Government Data: U.S. Department of Labor Releases APIs and SDKs For Online and Mobile Tools and Apps

If you’re not a developer, here’s some news that might be of interest to them. Perhaps it’s time to for developers and non-developers to brainstorm new ways to use Dept. of Labor data.

The team at the wonderful ProgrammableWeb.com, home to a massive directory of API’s and mashups pointed out that the U.S. Department of Labor released an APIs and SDKs (software development kits) for developers last month.

The Dept. of Labor says that this is a, “first-of-its-kind federal website to make it easier for software developers to incorporate Labor Department data into online and mobile applications.”

From an Announcement:

“While a handful of other federal agencies are making data available through one or more APIs, the inclusion of SDKs is a federal first,” said Deputy Secretary of Labor Seth Harris. “By doing so, we’re lowering the technical barriers and providing developers of all experience levels the opportunity to turn good ideas into powerful software applications for the American public.”

[Clip]

The site currently features seven APIs providing access to items ranging from employment and wage data gathered by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics to details of inspections conducted by the department’s Wage and Hour Division and its Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Additional data will be added each week. SDKs are available for BlackBerry, Android, iOS and .NET platforms.

Direct to U.S. Dept. of Labor API and SDK Info

Filed under: Data Files, News, Resources