Recent Graduate - Economist / Statistician (Economics)

Summary

The Bureau of Labor Statistics measures labor market activity, working conditions, price changes, and productivity in the U.S. economy to support public and private decision making.

This position is with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Field Operations, Division of Federal/State Cooperative Programs. Position is for Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS).

Learn more about this agency

Help Duties

Duties include but are not limited to:

• May collect data and coordinate quality control work including response analysis studies and other special projects to improve overall program output.
• Provide technical assistance and guidance to cooperating state agencies in the collection, processing, estimating, benchmarking, analysis and interpretation of data generated by the States and reviewed by the Branch programs.
• Communicate with regional and state staff in translating statistical program requirements into various automated systems.
• Through on-site reviews and analysis of reports, assures the integrity and validity of data produced by cooperating state agencies.
• Provide collection expertise and feedback to the development of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) survey programs, to effectively and efficiently execute survey activities both directly and through grantees, and to conduct an active program of information and outreach for BLS products.

Duties at the GS-07, GS-09 are development leading up to the full performance level of the GS-12.

Help Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Appointees must sign a DOL Pathways Recent Graduate Program Participant Agreement.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Requires a valid driver's license.
• Must be at least 16 years.
• Candidate required to obtain the necessary security/investigation level.
• Requires a trial period.

Qualifications

You must meet the Basic Requirements listed in the "Education Requirements" section and the "Specialized Experience" to qualify for Recent Graduate - Economist / Statistician (Economics), as described below.

This is an interdisciplinary position and can be filled either as an Economist (0110 series) or as a Statistician (Economics) (1530 series).

Basic Requirement:

Economist, GS-0110: A) Degree in economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting or calculus.

OR

B) A combination of education and experience - courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Statistician (Economics), GS-1530: A) Degree that included 15 semester hours in statistics (or in mathematics and statistics, provided at least 6 semester hours were in statistics), and 9 additional semester hours in one or more of the following: physical or biological sciences, medicine, education, or engineering; or in the social sciences including demography, history, economics, social welfare, geography, international relations, social or cultural anthropology, health sociology, political science, public administration, psychology, etc. Credit toward meeting statistical course requirements should be given for courses in which 50 percent of the course content appears to be statistical methods, e.g., courses that included studies in research methods in psychology or economics such as tests and measurements or business cycles, or courses in methods of processing mass statistical data such as tabulating methods or electronic data processing.

OR

B) A combination of education and experience - courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The experience should have included a full range of professional statistical work such as (a) sampling, (b)collecting, computing, and analyzing statistical data, and (c) applying statistical techniques such as measurement of central tendency, dispersion, skewness, sampling error, simple and multiple correlation, analysis of variance, and tests of significance.

In addition to meeting the Basic Requirement above, applicants must also meet the minimum qualifications to be considered:

Specialized Experience:

GS-7: One (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-5.

GS-9: One (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-7.

Specialized experience should include a thorough range of complex economic professional work. Some examples of qualifying specialized experience include:

GS-7: Applying standard practices and techniques to the solicitation and collection of economic information or data for surveys or projects, analyzing or interpreting economic or statistical information in order to identify and resolve discrepancies, and preparing reports based on collected information.

GS-9: Providing non-complex guidance and technical assistance in the collection, processing, analysis and interpretation of data; participating in on-site reviews and analysis of reports; participating in providing training and orientation seminars.

OR

Education Substitution:
GS-7: 1 year of graduate-level education or superior academic achievement. Superior Academic Achievement is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership. Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed. Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- Applicants must have a grade-point average of: 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. Election to membership in an approved national scholastic honor society.
GS-9: 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree.
OR
Combination of Education and Experience:
GS-7: An appropriate combination of graduate level education and specialized experience.
GS-9: An appropriate combination of specialized experience and education (only graduate education in excess of 18 semester hours may be used to qualify applicants for this grade level). The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.
Education must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled. Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for this position.
For additional information, refer to the Office of Personnel Management Operating Manual for Qualification Standards, Group Coverage Qualification Standards for Professional and Scientific Positions. Individual Occupation Requirements for Economist Series GS-110 and Statistician Series GS-1530.
Education
To be eligible for an appointment, you must meet requirements A. or B.

• Completed all requirements for an associate, bachelor, master, professional, doctorate, vocational, or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution within the previous two years;

OR

• Was released or discharged from active duty within the previous two years, where the applicant is a veteran who, due to a military service obligation, was precluded from applying for a recent graduate position during any portion of the two-year eligibility period following completion of his/her degree or certificate requirements, provided that not more than six years have transpired since the applicant completed the requirements for a degree or certification. You must submit an academic transcript from your academic institution showing the date that you most recently completed the academic requirements described above. See the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service.
If your education was completed at a foreign college or university, you must show comparability to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States and comparability to applicable minimum coursework requirements for this position. Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information.
Additional information
This appointment is under the DOL Recent Graduates program. The program duration is one year.Upon successful completion of the program and at the agency's discretion, the appointee may be converted to a term or permanent position in the competitive service.
The entire duration of the Recent Graduate Appointment constitutes a trial period.
This position is inside the bargaining unit. The position will be included in the NCFLL bargaining unit.
Persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or have speech disabilities, please dial 711 to access telecommunications relay services.
The mission of the Department of Labor (DOL) is to protect the welfare of workers and job seekers, improve working conditions, expand high-quality employment opportunities, and assure work-related benefits and rights for all workers. As such, the Department is committed to fostering a workplace and workforce that promote equal employment opportunity, reflects the diversity of the people we seek to serve, and models a culture of respect, equity, inclusion, and accessibility where every employee feels heard, supported, and empowered.
Refer to these links for more information: GENERAL INFORMATION, REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION, ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION, FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES
Applicants must meet all legal and regulatory requirements. Reference the "Required Documents" section for additional requirements.
The appointee must be a U.S. citizen in order to be eligible for conversion to a permanent position in the competitive service upon completion of the program. Upon successful completion of the program and at the agency's discretion, the appointee may be converted to a term or permanent position in the competitive service.
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Washington, DC 20210
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