Supervisory Economist/Statistician (Economics)

Applicants must meet the eligibility requirements of time-in-grade (52 weeks at the next lower grade), time-after-competitive-appointment (90 days), and minimum qualifications (52 weeks equivalent to the next lower grade in federal service). These requirements must be met within 30 days of the announcement closing date. 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. 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 For GS-13: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 in the Federal Service. 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. Qualifying specialized experience includes: Experience in related fields that involve the use and understanding of economic principles and statistical theories to collect, analyze, and interpret information on price structures, relationships, and patterns from crucial economic sectors, and the economic trends of the individual establishments, markets, and geographic areas. Expert knowledge of the Consumer Price Index, including technical requirements and collection methodology of all CPI component surveys. Comprehensive knowledge of production and distribution costs, markets, capitalization, and technological improvements in relation to goods and services producing industries, including consumer spending patterns, housing markets, retail market revenue systems, nature of the demands, sales methods, and conditions affecting the production, distribution, and sale of a commodity or service. Expert knowledge of financial, accounting, and sales record keeping systems to assist respondents and Field Economists. Conducting research and investigations to interpret and present economic findings; expert knowledge of the CPI Data Quality program requirements and an understanding of quality principles to direct subordinate staff. 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.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is the principal fact-finding agency for the federal government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics. The BLS is an independent national statistical agency that collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates essential statistical data to the American public, the U.S. Congress, other federal agencies, state and local governments, business, and labor. The BLS also serves as a statistical resource to the U.S. Department of Labor.