Get unemployment rate time series from BLS LAUS data. Returns monthly unemployment rates for a state or county. Data is returned in chronological order with year, period, and percentage value. Args: state: Two-letter US state abbreviation (e.g. 'WA', 'CA', 'NY'). county_fips: Optional 3-digit cou...
Part of the BLS Employment & Wages server.
Free to start. No card required.
AI agents call get_unemployment_rate to retrieve information from BLS Employment & Wages without modifying any data. This is common in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows where the agent needs context before taking action. Because read operations don't change state, they are generally safe to allow without restrictions -- but you may still want rate limits to control API costs.
Even though get_unemployment_rate only reads data, uncontrolled read access can leak sensitive information or rack up API costs. An agent caught in a retry loop could make thousands of calls per minute. A rate limit gives you a safety net without blocking legitimate use.
Read-only tools are safe to allow by default. No rate limit needed unless you want to control costs.
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"get_unemployment_rate": {}
}
}See the full BLS Employment & Wages policy for all 4 tools.
These attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access get_unemployment_rate gives an agent. Each links to the full case and the policy that stops it:
Other read tools across the catalogue. The same approach applies to each: allow, with a rate cap to control cost.
Get unemployment rate time series from BLS LAUS data. Returns monthly unemployment rates for a state or county. Data is returned in chronological order with year, period, and percentage value. Args: state: Two-letter US state abbreviation (e.g. 'WA', 'CA', 'NY'). county_fips: Optional 3-digit county FIPS code (e.g. '033' for King County). If provided, returns county-level data; otherwise state-level. start_year: Start year for data (default 2020, min 4-digit year). end_year: End year for data (default 2025).. It is categorised as a Read tool in the BLS Employment & Wages MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the BLS Employment & Wages MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for get_unemployment_rate: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches BLS Employment & Wages. Nothing to install.
get_unemployment_rate is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the get_unemployment_rate rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for get_unemployment_rate. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
get_unemployment_rate is provided by the BLS Employment & Wages MCP server (https://mcp.olyport.com/bls/mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Deterministic rules across all 4 BLS Employment & Wages tools. Per-identity grants. Full audit log. Live in minutes. Nothing to install.
Free to start. No card required.
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