Every figure on AURmetric is built from public data. The live layer is genuine — pulled from official APIs, nothing invented. The modeled layers are clearly labeled as estimates. This page lists each dataset, what it powers, its vintage, and how often it refreshes.
County & state rates current as of 2026 · last national build July 2026| Source | Powers | Coverage / vintage | Cadence |
|---|---|---|---|
| BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), via the BLS Public Data API | County & state official U-3 rates; the base of every true-rate calculation | All 50 states + DC, ~3,130 counties, 2026 | Monthly |
| BLS Alternative Measures (U-1…U-6) | State U-6/U-3 ratios used to lift each county's U-3 to a U-6 basis | 11 states' own published ratios; national ratio as fallback, 2025 | Annual |
| Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages (QCEW) | Industry employment mix, location quotients, average wages, and lost-economic-potential estimates per county | County × industry, latest available quarter | Quarterly |
| BLS Employment Projections & OEWS | Structural occupation-growth outlook blended into the job-demand signal | National, 10-year horizon | Annual |
| Indeed Hiring Lab | Real-time job-postings index by sector; year-over-year demand momentum | National, by sector | Monthly |
| U.S. Census / TIGER geography | County and state boundary shapes for the maps | National | As released |
| BLS series LNS14000000 | The national historical unemployment chart (annual average) | 1948–present, seasonally adjusted | Monthly |
The informal, undocumented, and "complete" (U-7/U-8) figures are modeled estimates with error bands, not measured statistics — see the Methodology for exactly how they are built and reconciled. Job-demand momentum at the county level is currently illustrative until a paid county-level postings feed is integrated; the national Indeed signal above is real.
When referencing AURmetric's figures or methodology, please use:
AURmetric. (2026). Actual Unemployment Rate Metric [Data set]. Retrieved from https://aurmetric.com
Please also cite the original agencies for the underlying public series — the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS, QCEW, OEWS) and the U.S. Census Bureau — and label any modeled U-7/U-8 figure as an AURmetric estimate, not an official statistic.
AURmetric is an independent project. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Census Bureau, or any government agency. Official series are reproduced unchanged for comparability; see Terms.