The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has updated the terms governing access to USAJobs data, explicitly allowing users to analyze, redistribute and use the publicly available information for lawful commercial and noncommercial purposes without prior agency approval, according to an October 12 FedScoop report. 

The change follows concerns that earlier wording could restrict legitimate data analysis.

The updated terms now expressly allow users to copy, store, reformat, adapt, analyze, publish, redistribute, modify, summarize and combine public data for lawful purposes, while retaining restrictions against fraud and misrepresentation.

The revised terms apply to public federal job-announcement and related reference data accessed through the USAJobs application programming interface (API), including information available through Search, Historic JOA, Announcement Text and public code-list endpoints. 

OPM clarified that API registration and credentials govern access to the service, while lawful downstream reuse of the Public Data does not require prior OPM approval.

Revised Terms Clarify Permitted Data Use

Earlier terms prohibited selling or redistributing USAJobs data as a standalone product or feed without approval and said other uses required written authorization from OPM. That wording prompted concerns from data-policy experts and organizations using the information for research and analysis.

The updated terms state that Public Data is provided under an open license and can be reused without prior approval. They also prohibit falsely presenting modified information as official or unaltered government data, implying government endorsement, falsely claiming that an application was submitted or received, or using the API for phishing, fraud or deceptive collection of applicant information.

Implications for Data Governance

For chief data officers (CDOs), the change illustrates why clear data governance rules matter when organizations make government data available for analysis and reuse.

Users of the USAJobs API now have clearer guidance on the distinction between accessing the service and reusing the public data it provides.

The clarification could make it easier for organizations to build workforce analytics and other services using USAJobs data while maintaining safeguards against impersonation, fraud and misleading representations.