How to cite the Workforce Labor Index.

Every published Workforce Labor Index (WLI) rate, methodology version, and audit artifact carries a stable URL and a recommended citation format. This page documents the citation contract for academics, regulators, court clerks, and journalists. CC-BY-4.0 means: cite it freely, in any context, without permission, in perpetuity.

format 01Cite a published WLI rate

Use this format when citing a specific WLI category rate in a regulatory filing, academic paper, court document, or journalism. Replace [category-slug] with the WLI category (e.g. cs-ticket-resolution) and YYYY-MM-DD with the access date.

APA

Workforce Labor Index. (YYYY). WLI[category-slug] rate as of YYYY-MM-DD
   (methodology v1.0). CC-BY-4.0.
   https://workforcelaborindex.com/wli/[category-slug]

Chicago (notes-bibliography)

Workforce Labor Index. "WLI[category-slug] Rate, [access-date]."
   Methodology v1.0, CC-BY-4.0.
   https://workforcelaborindex.com/wli/[category-slug].

BibTeX

@misc{wli_[category-slug]_YYYY,
  author       = {{Workforce Labor Index}},
  title        = {{WLI [category-slug] rate, access date YYYY-MM-DD,
                  methodology v1.0}},
  year         = {YYYY},
  howpublished = {\url{https://workforcelaborindex.com/wli/[category-slug]}},
  note         = {CC-BY-4.0, IOSCO PD415-aligned},
}

format 02Cite the methodology paper

Use this when referencing the methodology overall (formula, data system, governance), separate from a specific rate. The methodology is versioned (currently v1.0 working draft); cite the version explicitly.

APA

Workforce Labor Index Editorial Board. (2026). Workforce Labor Index
   methodology v1.0: a transaction-anchored, IOSCO-aligned benchmark
   for the commodifiable outputs of artificial labor (Working draft).
   CC-BY-4.0. https://workforcelaborindex.com/methodology

Chicago

Workforce Labor Index Editorial Board. "Workforce Labor Index Methodology
   v1.0: A Transaction-Anchored, IOSCO-Aligned Benchmark for the
   Commodifiable Outputs of Artificial Labor." Working draft, 2026.
   https://workforcelaborindex.com/methodology.

BibTeX

@unpublished{wli_methodology_v1,
  author       = {{Workforce Labor Index Editorial Board}},
  title        = {{Workforce Labor Index Methodology v1.0:
                  a transaction-anchored, IOSCO-aligned benchmark for the
                  commodifiable outputs of artificial labor}},
  year         = {2026},
  note         = {Working draft, CC-BY-4.0},
  howpublished = {\url{https://workforcelaborindex.com/methodology}},
}

An arXiv preprint is in preparation. Once posted, the BibTeX block on this page will update to point to the canonical arXiv DOI. Existing citations to the working draft URL remain valid.

format 03Cite the IOSCO Statement of Compliance

Use this when referencing the WLI’s formal alignment to the 19 IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks (PD415, 2013).

APA

Workforce Labor Index. (2026). Statement of Compliance with the IOSCO
   Principles for Financial Benchmarks v1.0. Published 2026-06-04,
   CC-BY-4.0. https://workforcelaborindex.com/wli/iosco-compliance

BibTeX

@misc{wli_iosco_statement_v1,
  author       = {{Workforce Labor Index}},
  title        = {{Statement of Compliance with the IOSCO Principles
                  for Financial Benchmarks v1.0}},
  year         = {2026},
  month        = {6},
  howpublished = {\url{https://workforcelaborindex.com/wli/iosco-compliance}},
  note         = {CC-BY-4.0},
}

format 04Cite a sealed eval bank

Each sealed bank for a WLI category carries a SHA-256 hash, a version, and a sealing receipt. Use this format when reproducing a published WLI rate or auditing an AQO score.

BibTeX

@misc{wli_evalbank_[category]_v1,
  author       = {{Workforce Labor Index Editorial Board}},
  title        = {{Sealed eval bank: [category], v1.0}},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://github.com/griffainai/workforce-labor-index/
                  tree/main/eval-banks/[category]/v1.0}},
  note         = {SHA-256 in sealing-receipt.txt, CC-BY-4.0},
}

notesBest practices

• Always include the methodology version. Rates published under v1.0 may differ from rates under v2.0; the version is part of the citation.
• Always include the access date. WLI rates refresh weekly. The access date pins the citation to a specific snapshot.
• Always include the data tier. Tier A (transaction-confirmed), Tier C (public-pricing-derived), and others have different epistemic weight. Treat them differently.
• Cite the IOSCO Statement separately from the methodology paper. The Statement of Compliance documents alignment, not derivation.
• Don’t paraphrase rates without context. Quote the published value with its confidence interval intact. E.g. "$1.23 [0.85–2.10], Tier C, methodology v1.0, accessed YYYY-MM-DD".
• For regulatory filings: include the SHA-256 of the sealing receipt for the eval bank version you used. This makes the citation cryptographically auditable.

Questions about citation? Email editor@workforcelaborindex.com. We respond same-day for academic and regulatory citation inquiries.