Franchise & Retail Site Selectors
Labor market conditions — unemployment rate, labor force size — are fundamental inputs to site selection models for businesses that need to hire locally.
Local area unemployment rates mapped to ZIP codes for all US geographies. Part of the EnrichZip dataset — all 33,000+ US ZIP codes, instant download.
How to use this data
Franchise & Retail Site Selectors
Labor market conditions — unemployment rate, labor force size — are fundamental inputs to site selection models for businesses that need to hire locally.
Economic Development Organizations
Unemployment rate by ZIP code (approximated via county mapping) is a standard metric for grant applications, investment attraction, and economic impact reporting.
Commercial Real Estate
Employment health predicts retail spending, office demand, and multifamily rent growth. ZIP-level unemployment context is essential for underwriting commercial real estate.
HR & Workforce Planning
Identify ZIP codes with loose labor markets (high unemployment, large labor force) for facility siting decisions driven by workforce availability and cost.
Columns Included
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). All columns are pre-joined and ready to use — no API key or GIS software required.
| Column Name | Description |
|---|---|
bls_unemployment_rate |
Annual average unemployment rate (county-level, mapped to ZIP via Census crosswalk) |
About This Data
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program is the definitive source for local labor market conditions in the United States. Published monthly and annually for every county in the country, LAUS data is used by businesses, policymakers, and researchers to understand employment conditions at the local level.
EnrichZip maps county-level BLS unemployment rates to ZIP codes, making it easy to incorporate labor market data into ZIP-level analysis without dealing with county FIPS codes and crosswalk files.
For site selection, unemployment rate is a dual-purpose metric. High unemployment can signal a large available labor pool with potentially lower wages — attractive for manufacturing and distribution operations. Low unemployment signals a tight labor market with full employment — attractive for retail and consumer businesses that benefit from disposable income but challenging for employers competing for workers.
Combined with Census income data and HMDA mortgage data in the EnrichZip dataset, BLS unemployment creates a multidimensional picture of economic health at the ZIP code level. A ZIP with high unemployment, low median income, and high mortgage denial rates is in structural distress. A ZIP with low unemployment, rising income, and high purchase mortgage volume is a growth market.
The annual LAUS data is updated each February-March covering the prior calendar year. Monthly estimates are also available from BLS directly for users who need more current data.
FAQ
The Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program produces monthly and annual unemployment rate estimates for every US state, county, metropolitan area, and many sub-county areas. It's the official source of local unemployment data used in government policy, business planning, and economic research.
BLS does not publish unemployment statistics at the ZIP code level — the smallest geography is county (or sub-county areas in some states). EnrichZip maps county unemployment rates to ZIP codes using the Census ZCTA-to-County relationship file. For ZIP codes that span multiple counties, the county rate for the dominant county is assigned.
BLS publishes monthly LAUS data with about a 3-4 week lag, and annual averages in February-March of the following year. Our dataset uses the 2024 annual average — the most recent full-year estimate available.