VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Monday, October 13, 2025

View U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)View Wayback Machine (Internet Archive)Back to Home

Head-to-head

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) vs Wayback Machine (Internet Archive) comparison

Compare pricing, supported platforms, categories, and standout capabilities to decide which tool fits your workflow.

Quick takeaways

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) adds Calendar, Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, and Education coverage that Wayback Machine (Internet Archive) skips.

Wayback Machine (Internet Archive) includes APIs & SDKs, Citations & Source Pinning, and Other categories that U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) omits.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) highlights: Public Data API v2: JSON and Excel (.xlsx) output; single or batched series; optional calculations, annual averages, aspects & catalog metadata for registered users., Usage limits (v2): up to 50 series per query, up to 20 years per query, ~50 requests per 10 seconds; daily cap 500 queries (registered) or 25 (unregistered)., and Data Tools: Series Report (direct series ID lookup), Top Picks, One‑screen/Multi‑screen table builders, Data Finder, charts for news releases, CPI Inflation Calculator..

Wayback Machine (Internet Archive) is known for: On‑demand archiving via Save Page Now (SPN2) with POST/GET; options include capture_outlinks, capture_all, capture_screenshot, custom UA/cookies, and conditional capture (if_not_archived_within)., Snapshot discovery: Availability API (/wayback/v1/available) returns the closest archived capture to a URL/time; CDX Server API lists/filters captures; Memento TimeGate/TimeMap endpoints enable time‑based content negotiation., and Operational endpoints: user status (remaining/active SPN sessions) and system status (overload/OK) for SPN2..

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

bls.gov

Primary U.S. source for official labor‑market, inflation and productivity statistics. Offers a free Public Data API (v2) with JSON/XLSX responses, extensive web data tools (Series Report, Top Picks, Data Finder), and an official release calendar with RSS/iCal. Coverage spans CPI/PPI/Import‑Export prices, Employment Situation (payrolls & unemployment rate), JOLTS, ECI, productivity, QCEW and more. Registered API users get higher limits and can request calculations and catalog metadata.

Platforms

Web

API

Mobile

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

Public Data API v2: JSON and Excel (.xlsx) output; single or batched series; optional calculations, annual averages, aspects & catalog metadata for registered users.
Usage limits (v2): up to 50 series per query, up to 20 years per query, ~50 requests per 10 seconds; daily cap 500 queries (registered) or 25 (unregistered).
Data Tools: Series Report (direct series ID lookup), Top Picks, One‑screen/Multi‑screen table builders, Data Finder, charts for news releases, CPI Inflation Calculator.
Official release schedules & feeds: per‑release pages (e.g., Employment Situation) show dates/times (typically 8:30 a.m. ET); global calendar with RSS and iCal (ICS) subscription.
Mobile: “BLS Local Data” app for iOS/Android surfaces local labor market stats (states, metros, counties) and includes QCEW content.

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Wayback Machine (Internet Archive)

web.archive.org

General‑purpose web archiving used widely in financial research to cite and compare historical webpages (IR pages, fund fact sheets, product sites). Save Page Now (SPN2) enables on‑demand snapshots with options like outlink capture and full‑page screenshots. Availability and CDX APIs expose snapshot discovery; Memento provides time‑based negotiation. Rate limits/quotas apply to SPN2; crawling and replay behavior may vary by target site robots/policies. Some large platforms (e.g., Reddit) restrict Wayback access to content.

Platforms

Web

API

Mobile

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

On‑demand archiving via Save Page Now (SPN2) with POST/GET; options include capture_outlinks, capture_all, capture_screenshot, custom UA/cookies, and conditional capture (if_not_archived_within).
Snapshot discovery: Availability API (/wayback/v1/available) returns the closest archived capture to a URL/time; CDX Server API lists/filters captures; Memento TimeGate/TimeMap endpoints enable time‑based content negotiation.
Operational endpoints: user status (remaining/active SPN sessions) and system status (overload/OK) for SPN2.
Mobile & extensions: official iOS/Android apps and browser extensions (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) for quick saving and lookup.
Quotas/limits (SPN2): per‑minute, per‑day, per‑URL, resource size and screenshot size limits; concurrency dampening by host; max outlinks/embeds returned.

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

1 overlap

Both tools cover this research theme.

Data APIs

Where they differ

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

Distinct strengths include:

Public Data API v2: JSON and Excel (.xlsx) output; single or batched series; optional calculations, annual averages, aspects & catalog metadata for registered users.
Usage limits (v2): up to 50 series per query, up to 20 years per query, ~50 requests per 10 seconds; daily cap 500 queries (registered) or 25 (unregistered).
Data Tools: Series Report (direct series ID lookup), Top Picks, One‑screen/Multi‑screen table builders, Data Finder, charts for news releases, CPI Inflation Calculator.
Official release schedules & feeds: per‑release pages (e.g., Employment Situation) show dates/times (typically 8:30 a.m. ET); global calendar with RSS and iCal (ICS) subscription.

Wayback Machine (Internet Archive)

Distinct strengths include:

APIs & SDKs

Citations & Source Pinning

Other

On‑demand archiving via Save Page Now (SPN2) with POST/GET; options include capture_outlinks, capture_all, capture_screenshot, custom UA/cookies, and conditional capture (if_not_archived_within).
Snapshot discovery: Availability API (/wayback/v1/available) returns the closest archived capture to a URL/time; CDX Server API lists/filters captures; Memento TimeGate/TimeMap endpoints enable time‑based content negotiation.
Operational endpoints: user status (remaining/active SPN sessions) and system status (overload/OK) for SPN2.
Mobile & extensions: official iOS/Android apps and browser extensions (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) for quick saving and lookup.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)	Wayback Machine (Internet Archive)
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Data APIs Unique: Calendar, Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, Education	Shared: Data APIs Unique: APIs & SDKs, Citations & Source Pinning, Other
Asset types Supported asset classes and universes	Other	Other
Experience levels Who each product is built for	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Platforms Where you can access the product	Web, API, Mobile	Web, API, Mobile
Pricing High-level pricing models	Free	Free
Key features Core capabilities called out by each vendor	Unique Public Data API v2: JSON and Excel (.xlsx) output; single or batched series; optional calculations, annual averages, aspects & catalog metadata for registered users. Usage limits (v2): up to 50 series per query, up to 20 years per query, ~50 requests per 10 seconds; daily cap 500 queries (registered) or 25 (unregistered). Data Tools: Series Report (direct series ID lookup), Top Picks, One‑screen/Multi‑screen table builders, Data Finder, charts for news releases, CPI Inflation Calculator. Official release schedules & feeds: per‑release pages (e.g., Employment Situation) show dates/times (typically 8:30 a.m. ET); global calendar with RSS and iCal (ICS) subscription. Mobile: “BLS Local Data” app for iOS/Android surfaces local labor market stats (states, metros, counties) and includes QCEW content. Mission/authority & confidentiality: Principal U.S. fact‑finding agency for labor economics; data collected and protected under CIPSEA and other federal laws.	Unique On‑demand archiving via Save Page Now (SPN2) with POST/GET; options include capture_outlinks, capture_all, capture_screenshot, custom UA/cookies, and conditional capture (if_not_archived_within). Snapshot discovery: Availability API (/wayback/v1/available) returns the closest archived capture to a URL/time; CDX Server API lists/filters captures; Memento TimeGate/TimeMap endpoints enable time‑based content negotiation. Operational endpoints: user status (remaining/active SPN sessions) and system status (overload/OK) for SPN2. Mobile & extensions: official iOS/Android apps and browser extensions (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) for quick saving and lookup. Quotas/limits (SPN2): per‑minute, per‑day, per‑URL, resource size and screenshot size limits; concurrency dampening by host; max outlinks/embeds returned. Timestamps and replay: captures are timestamped (UTC) and replayed with toolbar metadata; screenshot capture available as a separate archived asset.
Tested Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat	Not yet	Not yet
Editor pick Featured inside curated shortlists	Standard listing	Standard listing

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and Wayback Machine (Internet Archive) both support?

Both platforms cover Data APIs workflows, so you can research those use cases in either tool before digging into the feature differences below.

Do U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and Wayback Machine (Internet Archive) require subscriptions?

Both U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and Wayback Machine (Internet Archive) keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

How can you access U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and Wayback Machine (Internet Archive)?

Both U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and Wayback Machine (Internet Archive) support web and mobile access, making it easy to keep tabs on research away from the desk.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) differentiates itself with Public Data API v2: JSON and Excel (.xlsx) output; single or batched series; optional calculations, annual averages, aspects & catalog metadata for registered users., Usage limits (v2): up to 50 series per query, up to 20 years per query, ~50 requests per 10 seconds; daily cap 500 queries (registered) or 25 (unregistered)., and Data Tools: Series Report (direct series ID lookup), Top Picks, One‑screen/Multi‑screen table builders, Data Finder, charts for news releases, CPI Inflation Calculator., whereas Wayback Machine (Internet Archive) stands out for On‑demand archiving via Save Page Now (SPN2) with POST/GET; options include capture_outlinks, capture_all, capture_screenshot, custom UA/cookies, and conditional capture (if_not_archived_within)., Snapshot discovery: Availability API (/wayback/v1/available) returns the closest archived capture to a URL/time; CDX Server API lists/filters captures; Memento TimeGate/TimeMap endpoints enable time‑based content negotiation., and Operational endpoints: user status (remaining/active SPN sessions) and system status (overload/OK) for SPN2..

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