Economist/Statistician (Economics)

Full Job Description

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.

The position is located in the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Compensation and Working Conditions.

You must meet the Basic Requirements and the Minimum Qualifications to qualify for Economist/Statistician (Economics), as described below.

Basic Requirements: 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.

Basic Requirements: 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.

Minimum Qualifications: Economist, GS-0110 or Statistician (Economics), GS-1530 Specialized Experience is the experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform the duties of the position successfully, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled.

To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. Specialized experience should include a thorough range of complex economic professional work.

GS-13: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level.

Qualifying specialized experience includes: Understanding of economic and/or statistical principles, theories, and measures; Utilized statistical software to collect and analyze economic or other social science data; Planned and managed data collection, microdata review, generating estimates, or evaluating estimate quality and confidentiality for large scale surveys; Collaborated with stakeholders to deliver consensus based recommendations and decisions.

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. Individual Occupation Requirement for Statistician Series GS-1530 Major Duties:

Duties include but are not limited to: Plans, coordinates, and evaluates the review of wage or job requirements microdata by preparing detailed program procedures, computer processing requirements, training materials, formal project planning documents, monitoring and reporting progress, and identifying and implementing process improvements.

Prepares technical instructions for, or documentation of, computer systems/programs used for review or analysis.

Reviews and verifies microdata for accuracy and conformance to quality standards, as well as the design, development, and evaluation of supporting processes.

Coordinates and participates in the review of estimates and publications for technical accuracy, consistency, and adherence to office publication standards, as well as the design, development, and evaluation of supporting processes; selects best means of analyzing and presenting data, including statistical and econometric methods; and develops proposals for complex tabulations and research in areas of concentration.

Guides junior economists in economic and statistical analysis, technical writing, process, and systems documentation, and other job-related duties.

The incumbent may serve as a team leader for a designated project group. Leads interdisciplinary teams.