market_size_estimator
One-call TAM / market-size read for an industry (NAICS) in a US geography. Joins two independent federal sources that both count business activity by NAICS + area so each corroborates the other: US Census County Business Patterns (establishments, employment, annual payroll - needs a Census API ke...
This record as markdown: /tools/io-github-blackboxfoundry-livedatalink/market-size-estimator.md
What market_size_estimator does on Livedatalink
AI agents call market_size_estimator to retrieve information from Livedatalink without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
metro | string | — | Optional 5-digit CBSA/metro code (e.g. '12420' Austin, TX). Census leg only; requires the Census key. |
naics | string | — | Explicit 2 to 6 digit NAICS industry code (e.g. '722' food services, '5112' software publishers). Overrides 'industry'. |
state | string | — | Optional 2-letter state code or 2-digit FIPS (e.g. 'TX', '48'). Omit for a national estimate. |
industry | string | — | Free-text industry to map to a NAICS code (e.g. 'restaurants', 'software publishers', 'construction'). Provide this or 'naics'. |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why market_size_estimator is rated Low
Even though market_size_estimator only reads data, uncontrolled read access leaks sensitive information and racks up API costs: an agent caught in a retry loop can make thousands of calls a minute without anyone noticing.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs market_size_estimator safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Livedatalink, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For market_size_estimator, this is the rule to start with:
market_size_estimator is read-only, so it stays allowed. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Livedatalink, apply this rule, and every market_size_estimator call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about market_size_estimator
One-call TAM / market-size read for an industry (NAICS) in a US geography. Joins two independent federal sources that both count business activity by NAICS + area so each corroborates the other: US Census County Business Patterns (establishments, employment, annual payroll - needs a Census API key) and BLS QCEW (keyless: private establishment count, total wages, average annual pay, with employment implied from wages / avg pay). Returns the establishment count, employment, and a wage/payroll-based market-size anchor with the per-source evidence. Pass an 'industry' (e.g. 'restaurants', 'software publishers') or an explicit 'naics' code, and an optional 'state' or 'metro' (defaults to national). Market size here is the total annual wages/payroll paid in the industry+area - a concrete lower bound, NOT total revenue/receipts. A source that fails is noted, not fatal. Informational, not a guarantee. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Livedatalink MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
market_size_estimator accepts 4 parameters: metro, naics, state, industry. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the Livedatalink MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for market_size_estimator: 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 Livedatalink. Nothing to install.
market_size_estimator 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 market_size_estimator 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 market_size_estimator. 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.
market_size_estimator is provided by the Livedatalink MCP server (https://livedatalink.ai/mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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