seco-labor-mcp 0.1.0

MCP server for Swiss labor market data (SECO/AMSTAT) – Arbeitsmarkt & Stellensuche

seco-labor-mcp

Swiss Public Data MCP Portfolio · malkreide

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for Swiss labor market data from SECO (Staatssekretariat für Wirtschaft) and AMSTAT via opendata.swiss.

🇩🇪 Deutsche Version

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Overview

This server connects AI models to Swiss labor market statistics — unemployment rates, job seekers, open positions, youth unemployment, and occupational breakdowns — all without requiring an API key.

Primary audiences:

• 🏫 Schulamt / Education planning — youth unemployment, vocational guidance data
• 📊 Research & analysis — labor market trends, cantonal comparisons
• 🤖 AI agents — automated labor market monitoring and reporting

Anchor query:
"Welche Berufsgruppen haben im Kanton Zürich die höchste Jugendarbeitslosigkeit, und welche Lehrberufe unterliegen der Stellenmeldepflicht?"

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Data Sources (Phase 1 — No Auth Required)

Source	Description	Status
opendata.swiss	CKAN metadata catalog with SECO dataset CSVs	✅ Live
arbeit.swiss	Monthly press reports (PDF, structured URL pattern)	✅ Live
amstat.ch	AMSTAT reference portal	⚠️ JavaScript SPA, no public REST API

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Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  seco-labor-mcp                     │
│                                                     │
│  ┌─────────────┐    ┌──────────────────────────┐   │
│  │  FastMCP    │    │      9 MCP Tools         │   │
│  │  Server     │◄──►│  seco_search_datasets    │   │
│  │  (stdio /   │    │  seco_get_dataset        │   │
│  │   SSE)      │    │  seco_get_unemployment_* │   │
│  └─────────────┘    │  seco_get_youth_*        │   │
│         │           │  seco_get_job_seekers    │   │
│         ▼           │  seco_get_open_positions │   │
│  ┌─────────────┐    │  seco_get_monthly_url    │   │
│  │  httpx      │    │  seco_list_cantons       │   │
│  │  async      │    └──────────────────────────┘   │
│  └──────┬──────┘                                   │
└─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┘
          │
          ▼
  ┌───────────────────────────────────┐
  │  opendata.swiss CKAN API          │
  │  https://opendata.swiss/api/3/    │
  │  action/package_search            │
  │  action/package_show              │
  └───────────┬───────────────────────┘
              │
              ▼
  ┌───────────────────────────────────┐
  │  SECO Data Resources              │
  │  CSV / XLSX / PDF Downloads       │
  │  (monthly labor market data)      │
  └───────────────────────────────────┘

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Tools

Tool	Description	Key Use Case
seco_search_datasets	Search SECO datasets on opendata.swiss	Discovery
seco_get_dataset	Full metadata + download links for a dataset	Data access
seco_get_unemployment_overview	National/cantonal unemployment figures	Labor market overview
seco_get_youth_unemployment	Youth unemployment (15–24 year olds)	🎓 Berufswahlberatung
seco_get_job_seekers	Stellensuchende (broader than unemployed)	Training demand
seco_get_open_positions	Open positions — leading indicator	Sector analysis
seco_get_unemployment_by_occupation	Breakdown by Berufshauptgruppe	🎓 Vocational guidance
seco_get_monthly_report_url	Generate/verify PDF report URL	Source access
seco_list_cantons	All 26 canton codes and names	Utility

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Installation

Claude Desktop (stdio)

Add to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "seco-labor": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["seco-labor-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Cloud / SSE

pip install seco-labor-mcp
MCP_TRANSPORT=sse PORT=8000 seco-labor-mcp

Development

git clone https://github.com/malkreide/seco-labor-mcp.git
cd seco-labor-mcp
pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest tests/ -m "not live" -v

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Usage Examples

Search for youth unemployment data

Tool: seco_search_datasets
Input: { "query": "Jugendarbeitslosigkeit Alter", "limit": 5 }

Get cantonal unemployment for Zürich

Tool: seco_get_unemployment_overview
Input: { "canton": "ZH", "response_format": "markdown" }

Get monthly report URL

Tool: seco_get_monthly_report_url
Input: { "year": 2026, "month": 2, "language": "de" }

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Key Concepts

Arbeitslose vs. Stellensuchende

Eselsbrücke: Arbeitslose ⊂ Stellensuchende — Arbeitslose sind eine Teilmenge.

Term	Definition	Dec 2025
Arbeitslose	RAV-registered, immediately available	~149'000 (3.2%)
Stellensuchende	All RAV-registered (incl. training programs)	~233'900

Youth Unemployment Seasonality

• July/August: Sharp increase (school leavers without placements)
• September/October: Decline (apprenticeship starts)
• The residual that remains after the autumn decline signals structural need for bridge programs (Brückenangebote)

Stellenmeldepflicht (since 2020)

Occupations with ≥5% unemployment rate must be reported to the RAV before posting publicly. The list changes annually. This is directly relevant for vocational counseling — these professions have highest availability for Swiss job seekers.

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Portfolio Synergies

Server	Synergy
swiss-statistics-mcp	BFS population/employment data for deeper context
zurich-opendata-mcp	City of Zurich-level education and social data
swiss-snb-mcp	Economic context (GDP, wages) for labor market interpretation
fedlex-mcp	ALV (Arbeitslosenversicherung) legislative framework

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Known Limitations

• amstat.arbeit.swiss has no public REST API (JavaScript SPA) → workaround via CKAN
• Occupational/sectoral detail requires CSV download from SECO resources
• Monthly press report URL patterns may vary for older reports
• Cantonal sub-municipal data not available at this level

Phase 2 roadmap:

• Automatic CSV caching with 24h TTL
• Direct XLSX parsing for cantonal breakdowns
• Integration with zh-education-mcp for Schulamt-specific correlations

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Data License

SECO data published on opendata.swiss is under Creative Commons CCZero (public domain).
Source: Staatssekretariat für Wirtschaft (SECO) — seco.admin.ch

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Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for development guidelines.