> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.financialdatasets.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Snapshot

> Get the latest print of every US labor market series: nonfarm payrolls, the unemployment rate, participation, hourly earnings, job openings, hires, quits, and weekly jobless claims, with the change from the prior period and from a year earlier.

### Overview

The Labor Market Snapshot API returns the most recent print of every labor market series we track: the jobs report (nonfarm payrolls, the unemployment rate, participation, hourly earnings), JOLTS job openings, hires, and quits, and weekly jobless claims. That is 24 rows, each with the change from the prior period and from a year earlier computed for you. Monthly series show their latest month and weekly series their latest week. Pass `series` to get one row.

We source the data directly from authoritative government sources. The snapshot refreshes the morning each monthly or weekly figure is published.

To get started, please create an account and grab your <b>API key</b> at [financialdatasets.ai](https://financialdatasets.ai).

You will use the API key to authenticate your API requests.

### Coverage

| History       | Series | Updated            |
| ------------- | ------ | ------------------ |
| Latest period | 24     | Monthly and weekly |

### Series

Monthly: `payrolls`, `unemployment_rate`, `unemployment_rate_u6`, `participation_rate`, `hourly_earnings`, `job_openings`, `hires`, `quits`. Weekly: `initial_claims`, `initial_claims_4_week`, `continued_claims`, `continued_claims_4_week`, `insured_unemployment_rate`. Each is seasonally adjusted (`_sa`) and, except the 4-week averages, not seasonally adjusted (`_nsa`). The full list is one free `GET` request away:
[https://api.financialdatasets.ai/macro/labor/series/](https://api.financialdatasets.ai/macro/labor/series/)

### Reading the fields

* `date` is the reference period, not the release date: the first day of the month for monthly series, the week-ending Saturday for weekly series.
* `value` is the published figure in the series' units (thousands of persons, percent, dollars per hour, persons).
* `change_prior` and `change_year` are `value` minus the prior period's value and minus the value one year earlier, in the same units.
* `change_year_pct` is the year change as a percent, rounded to one decimal; `null` for series measured in percent, whose change is stated in points.
* A change is `null` when the comparison period was not published. The newest week of a weekly series is the advance figure, replaced by the final figure when published.

### Getting Started

There are only 2 steps for making a successful API call:

1. Add your API key to the header of the request as `X-API-KEY`.
2. Execute the API request. Add `series` to get one series instead of all 24.

### Example

```python Labor Market Snapshot theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
import requests

# add your API key to the headers
headers = {
    "X-API-KEY": "your_api_key_here"
}

# create the URL
url = 'https://api.financialdatasets.ai/macro/labor/snapshot'

# make API request
response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)

# parse the latest prints from the response
labor = response.json().get('labor')
```

### Example Response

```json theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
{
  "labor": [
    {
      "series": "payrolls_sa",
      "date": "2026-08-01",
      "value": 159075,
      "change_prior": 162,
      "change_year": 603,
      "change_year_pct": 0.4
    },
    {
      "series": "initial_claims_sa",
      "date": "2026-09-19",
      "value": 197000,
      "change_prior": -1000,
      "change_year": -22000,
      "change_year_pct": -10.0
    }
  ]
}
```

The live response has one row per series, 24 in total.


## OpenAPI

````yaml GET /macro/labor/snapshot
openapi: 3.0.1
info:
  title: Financial Datasets API
  description: >-
    Stock market API with real-time and historical financial data for 27,000+
    tickers over 30+ years. Financial statements, equity prices, insider trades,
    SEC filings, and more.
  version: 1.0.0
  license:
    name: MIT
    url: https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT
  contact:
    name: API Support
    url: mailto:support@financialdatasets.ai
    email: support@financialdatasets.ai
  termsOfService: https://financialdatasets.ai/terms-of-use
servers:
  - url: https://api.financialdatasets.ai/
    description: Production server
security:
  - X-API-KEY: []
tags:
  - name: Financial Statements
    description: Access to income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements
  - name: Market Data
    description: Real-time and historical price data
  - name: Company Information
    description: Company facts like ticker, name, and description
  - name: Earnings
    description: Earnings data and related information
  - name: News
    description: Real-time and historical news articles
  - name: SEC Filings
    description: SEC filings and regulatory documents
  - name: Insider Trades
    description: Insider trading activity and transactions
  - name: Activist Ownership
    description: Activist stakes from SEC Schedule 13D filings, in real time
  - name: Beneficial Ownership
    description: >-
      Holders of more than 5% of a company's shares, from SEC Schedules 13D and
      13G
  - name: Insider Ownership
    description: Insider ownership statements from SEC Forms 3 and 5
  - name: Institutional Holdings
    description: SEC-direct 13F equity holdings of institutional investment managers
  - name: IPOs
    description: >-
      Upcoming IPOs from SEC registration statements (Form S-1), with extracted
      pre-IPO financial statements
  - name: Index Funds
    description: >-
      ETF and index-fund holdings, weights, and the funds that hold a given
      security
  - name: Financial Metrics
    description: Financial ratios, metrics, and key performance indicators
  - name: Macroeconomics
    description: Real-time and historical macroeconomic data like interest rates
  - name: KPIs
    description: Sector-specific operational KPIs extracted from earnings releases.
  - name: Agent Account
    description: Self-serve account creation and funding for AI agents.
paths:
  /macro/labor/snapshot:
    get:
      tags:
        - Macroeconomics
      summary: Labor Market (Snapshot)
      description: >-
        The most recent print of every labor market series (24 rows: monthly
        series on their latest month, weekly series on their latest week), or of
        one series when series is given, each with the change from the prior
        period and from a year earlier.
      operationId: getLaborSnapshot
      parameters:
        - name: series
          in: query
          description: >-
            Optional series id to return one row instead of all 24, e.g.
            unemployment_rate_sa.
          required: false
          schema:
            type: string
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Labor market snapshot response
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/LaborSnapshotResponse'
        '400':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/BadRequestError'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/UnauthorizedError'
        '402':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/PaymentRequiredError'
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFoundError'
components:
  schemas:
    LaborSnapshotResponse:
      type: object
      properties:
        labor:
          type: array
          items:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/LaborObservation'
    LaborObservation:
      type: object
      properties:
        series:
          type: string
          description: The series id, e.g. payrolls_sa.
        date:
          type: string
          description: >-
            The reference period in YYYY-MM-DD format: the first day of the
            month for monthly series (2026-08-01 for August 2026), the
            week-ending Saturday for weekly series. Not the release date.
        value:
          type: number
          nullable: true
          description: >-
            The published figure in the series' units (thousands of persons,
            percent, dollars per hour, persons). Null when the period was not
            published.
        change_prior:
          type: number
          nullable: true
          description: >-
            value minus the prior period's value (prior month or prior week), in
            the same units. Null when either period was not published.
        change_year:
          type: number
          nullable: true
          description: >-
            value minus the value one year earlier (the same month a year back,
            or the week 52 weeks back), in the same units. Null when either
            period was not published.
        change_year_pct:
          type: number
          nullable: true
          description: >-
            change_year as a percent of the year-earlier value, rounded to one
            decimal. Null when either period was not published, and always null
            for series measured in percent, whose change is stated in points in
            change_year.
    ErrorResponse:
      type: object
      properties:
        error:
          type: string
          description: A short error message.
        message:
          type: string
          description: A more detailed error message.
  responses:
    BadRequestError:
      description: Bad request
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
          example:
            error: Bad Request
            message: Invalid request parameters
    UnauthorizedError:
      description: Unauthorized
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
          example:
            error: Unauthorized
            message: Invalid API key provided
    PaymentRequiredError:
      description: The request requires a paid subscription
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
          example:
            error: Payment Required
            message: >-
              This endpoint requires a paid subscription. Please upgrade your
              plan.
    NotFoundError:
      description: The specified resource was not found
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
          example:
            error: Not Found
            message: Ticker XXXX not found
  securitySchemes:
    X-API-KEY:
      type: apiKey
      name: X-API-KEY
      description: API key for authentication.
      in: header

````