pydol

pydol provides a pythonic interface to the U.S. Department of Labor API. It can be used to fetch official unemployment numbers and other interesting data.

from pydol import DOLAPI

# Create an instance of the API
DOL = DOLAPI("d9c6c290-da4c-424e-a378-fb4bd027b58b",
             "mysecret11111111111")

# Get dataset metadata as a dictionary structure
# Multi-part dataset names are separated by a /
BLS = DOL.metadata("statistics/BLS_Numbers")

# Get table data as a list of dictionaries
UNEMPLOYMENT = DOL.table("statistics/BLS_Numbers", "unemploymentRate")

# Detailed examples at docs/examples.rst

It is well documented, easy-to-use, PEP 8 compliant, and unit tested.

Dependencies

• Python >= 2.6
• requests
• xmltodict

Obtaining API credentials

Valid API credentials are required to request data from tables. To obtain credentials:

1. Create a DOL developer account and log in

2. Create a new token/key

   You must provide:

   • A random shared secret:

     >>> import os
     >>> import binascii
     >>> binascii.hexlify(os.urandom(32))
     'daae7948824525c1b8b59f9d5a75e9c0404e46259c7b1e17a4654a7e73c91b87'
     

   • An application name

   • An application description

4. The token/key will be generated after the submission of the form

Note: The words token and key are used interchangeably

This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Department of Labor.