NEWS.md

In BLSloadR: Download Time Series Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

BLSloadR 0.4.5 patch notes

Hotfix Updates

This patch updates BLSloadR to better address 403 and other download errors with to updates.

• The download logic now returns NULL and fails gracefully when 400/500 status errors are returned using fread_bls()
• This version incorporates logic from the development version of the package enabling the user to set a BLS_USER_AGENT environment variable. Using your email address as this will add it to the header request sent to the BLS, which will help to avoid 403 errors in the first place.
• Documentation updates explaining the environment variables have been added to the README file.

BLSloadR 0.4 patch notes

Functional Enhancements

Local File Cache

Because some BLS series update only infrequently, using a local file cache reduces demand for regularly re-downloading data from the BLS.

• BLSloadR now includes optional local download and retention of files from the BLS. To preserve existing functionality, this is disabled by default. When enabled, BLSloadR checks the local cache for files and compares the date and size of the files to the BLS file to determine if a new file is needed.
• This introduces two new environment variables to help control file caching
  • BLS_CACHE_DIR can be set to a file path to use as the BLSloadR cache folder. If this is not set, but caching is selected, the system will default to the path given by tools::R_user_dir("BLSloadR", which = "cache")
  • USE_BLS_CACHE can be used to allow functions to default to using the cache, without needing to manually set an argument in each call.
• To use the file caching, either set the cache=TRUE argument in your function call or set the USE_BLS_CACHE environment variable to "TRUE"

Performance Improvements

In addition to implementing a local file cache, some improvements have been made to the operation of fread_bls() behind the scenes to more efficiently check BLS files for issues like phantom columns. It is becoming evident that with the implementation of a local cache for files this is now the slowest part of the process, so future enhancements may include options to skip some of this processing for files where the BLS file structure is already known and verified.

Added fast_read option in get_oews() to improve function performance. This option pasrses the series_id within the data file instead of reading in the full series file in order to avoid redundant downloads.

Documentation Updates

• Added vignette documenting use of file cache.

• Added article describing usage of get_qcew()

BLSloadR 0.3.1 patch notes

Function Enhancements

• load_bls_dataset():
  • Added the which_data argument to this function, which allows use of this function in a pipeline without needing manual entry in the console for any BLS datasets which have exactly 1 series file and at most 1 aspect file.

Documentation Enhancements

• Corrected typos for get_salt()

BLSloadR 0.3.0

Major Enhancements

Enhanced CES Functions with Performance Filtering

• get_ces() - Major performance improvements with new filtering options:
  • states parameter: Download data for specific states only (90%+ faster than full download)
  • industry_filter parameter: Focus on specific industries (retail_trade, manufacturing, etc.)
  • current_year_only parameter: Get only recent data (2006-present) instead of complete history
  • Mutually exclusive filtering prevents conflicting options
• get_national_ces() - New specialized dataset options for optimal performance:
  • dataset_filter parameter with 4 options: all_data, current_seasonally_adjusted, real_earnings_all_employees, real_earnings_production
  • Up to 95% faster downloads with specialized datasets
  • Enhanced documentation with performance notes
• get_qcew() - New function designed to access the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages(QCEW):
  • Get quarterly or annual data for one year or multiple years.
  • Append area and industry definitions to the data.
  • QCEW represents highly detailed data across counties, combined areas, states and national regions.
  • Includes detailed employment and wage data.

New Helper Functions

• CES Discovery Functions:
  • list_ces_states() - List available states for filtering
  • list_ces_industries() - List available industry filters with descriptions
  • show_ces_options() - Comprehensive usage guide for CES options
• National CES Discovery Functions:
  • list_national_ces_options() - List national dataset filter options
  • show_national_ces_options() - Usage guide for national CES datasets
• QCEW Lookup Tables included:
  • area_lookup data table has details on QCEW area codes to pre-filter data requests.
  • ind_lookup data table has details on NAICS codes used in QCEW files.

Infrastructure Improvements

• Fixed URL parameter passing in download_bls_files() (downloads[['key']] vs downloads\$key)
• Consistent parameter naming across functions (suppress_warnings instead of mixed naming)
• Enhanced error handling and validation throughout
• Improved diagnostic messaging and user feedback

Documentation and Vignettes

• New comprehensive vignette: "Working with CES Data: Enhanced Features and Performance"
• New article on working with OEWS data.
• Updated main package vignette with enhanced CES capabilities
• Complete function documentation regeneration
• Performance comparison tables and best practices

Breaking Changes

• Parameter show_warnings changed to suppress_warnings in get_national_ces() for consistency
• Enhanced parameter validation may catch previously ignored invalid inputs

BLSloadR 0.2

• Initial CRAN release.

BLSloadR documentation built on April 23, 2026, 9:07 a.m.