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

<p align="center"> <img src="assets/demo.png" alt="Demo: Claude queries youth unemployment via seco-labor-mcp tool call" width="720"> </p>

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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?" → More use cases by audience →

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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

The SSE server binds to 127.0.0.1 (loopback) by default to prevent NeighborJack on shared networks. For container deployments where you actually need to accept traffic from outside the container, set HOST=0.0.0.0 explicitly — ideally in your Dockerfile / orchestrator config, and only behind an upstream proxy or firewall:

HOST=0.0.0.0 MCP_TRANSPORT=sse PORT=8000 seco-labor-mcp   # container only

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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🛡️ Safety & Limits

Aspect	Details
Access	Read-only (readOnlyHint: true) — the server cannot modify or delete any data
Personal data	No personal data — all sources are aggregated, anonymous public statistics
Rate limits	No enforced external limits; server caps queries at 20 results by default; 30 s HTTP timeout
Authentication	No API keys required — opendata.swiss and arbeit.swiss are publicly accessible
Licenses	SECO data under Creative Commons CCZero (public domain)
Terms of Service	Subject to ToS of: opendata.swiss, SECO, arbeit.swiss
GDPR / DSG	Fully compliant — no personal data transmitted or stored; all data is official public statistics

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Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for development guidelines.