USAJOBS API vs Coresignal for AI agents
USAJOBS API is the official REST API for searching public U.S. federal government job announcements on USAJOBS. Coresignal is a B2B jobs data API and dataset of deduplicated job postings merged from many sources into one format.
The short answer
- USAJOBS API: Authoritative, reusable data on U.S. federal government job openings.
- Coresignal: Large-scale, historical job-postings data for analytics, research and data products.
Side by side
| USAJOBS API | Coresignal | |
|---|---|---|
| Searches | Public job announcements posted on USAJOBS (status/internal jobs need extra steps); a single employer-side source, not an aggregator. | Company websites, professional networks, ATS platforms and major job aggregators; 486M+ postings, 52M+ active, 195+ countries. |
| Returns | JSON SearchResult items with PositionTitle, PositionURI, ApplyURI, OrganizationName, PositionLocation (with lat/long) and PositionRemuneration. | Records with job_id, status, title, description, seniority, employment_type, company_name, company_domain, location, country/city, salary (min, max, currency), external_url and job_sources[].url. |
| Before the first call | An API key requested through an application form (name, email, phone, organization, intended use); calls send Host, User-Agent (your email) and Authorization-Key headers. | A Coresignal account and API key (trial available); queries use Elasticsearch DSL. |
| Free | Not stated on its pages | Trial with 2,000 free credits, no credit card required (1 credit per job posting record). |
| Paid | Not stated on its pages | Self-serve plans from $49 per month (Mini, 2,500 credits per month); datasets are custom-priced from $1,000. |
| Acting on a result | PositionURI/ApplyURI point to the announcement on usajobs.gov. | external_url is the job URL on the company's own site (not always filled); job_sources[].url gives each source posting. |
| Limits on keeping or showing results | Public Data may be copied, stored, republished and used commercially; attribution to USAJOBS is encouraged, not required; don't present modified data as official. Max 10,000 rows per query, 500 per page. | Not stated on its pages |
| Coverage | United States federal government jobs (in the U.S. and abroad). | 195+ countries. |
| MCP server | No official server listed | Official Coresignal MCP server, OAuth 2.1: https://mcp.coresignal.com/mcp/v2 (legacy https://mcp.coresignal.com/mcp deprecated Nov 1, 2026) |
Where Openpath fits
If the agent needs a job to apply for in Austin, Texas, or a remote one, Openpath returns the listings themselves, free and with no key. See Openpath vs USAJOBS API and Openpath vs Coresignal.
Questions people ask
What do I need before I can use USAJOBS API?
An API key requested through an application form (name, email, phone, organization, intended use); calls send Host, User-Agent (your email) and Authorization-Key headers.
Is USAJOBS API free?
Its pages listed no free use when we read them on October 15, 2026.
What do I need before I can use Coresignal?
A Coresignal account and API key (trial available); queries use Elasticsearch DSL.
Is Coresignal free?
Trial with 2,000 free credits, no credit card required (1 credit per job posting record).
Sources
Every line about another company comes from its own pages. Prices and terms change, so check the source before you rely on one.
USAJOBS API, read on October 15, 2026:
- developer.usajobs.gov/guides/authentication: “To request an API Key, please go the the API Request page and fill out an application.”
- developer.usajobs.gov/apirequest: “Only public job information is available through this site.”
- developer.usajobs.gov/guides/rate-limiting: “Maximum of 10,000 rows per query”
- developer.usajobs.gov/guides/terms-of-service: “Public Data may be copied, stored, reformatted, adapted, analyzed, published, redistributed, and used for lawful commercial”
- developer.usajobs.gov/guides/terms-of-service: “OPM encourages users to identify USAJOBS as the source, link to the current official job announcement”
- developer.usajobs.gov/api-reference/get-api-search: “URI to apply for the job offering.”
- usajobs.gov/HiringPath/Public: “the official employment site for the federal government”
Coresignal, read on October 15, 2026:
- coresignal.com/solutions/jobs-data-api: “Jobs data from company websites, professional networks, ATS platforms, and major jobs data aggregators”
- coresignal.com/solutions/jobs-data-api: “2,000 free credits · No credit card required”
- coresignal.com/solutions/jobs-data-api: “195+ countries covered”
- coresignal.com/pricing: “monthly plans starting at $49/month”
- coresignal.com/pricing: “One price, full data record”
- docs.coresignal.com/jobs-api/multi-source-jobs-api/data-dictionary-multi-source-jobs-api: “External (company) job URL”
- docs.coresignal.com/integrations/coresignal-mcp: “OAuth 2.1 sign-in via the Coresignal dashboard”