Economist

Positions are located in the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Unemployment Insurance (OUI). OUI is responsible for providing leadership, direction, oversight, and assistance to state workforce agencies in the implementation and administration of state unemployment insurance (UI) programs, Federal unemployment compensation programs, and other wage-loss, worker dislocation and adjustment assistance compensation programs.

The positions are inside the bargaining unit.

Qualifications:

You must meet the Basic Requirements and the Specialized Experience to qualify for the Economist, GS-0110-13

Basic Requirements:
1. Degree: economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus.

OR

2. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience as listed below or additional education.

Examples of qualifying experience include:

1. individual economic research assignments requiring planning, information assembly, analysis and evaluation, conclusions and report preparation;
2. supervisory or project coordination assignments involving a staff of professional economists, and requiring the evaluation and interpretation of economic information; or
3. teaching assignments in a college or university that included both class instruction in economics subjects and one of the following (1) personal research that produced evidence of results, (2) direction of graduate theses in economics, or (3) service as a consultant or advisor on technical economics problems.

Experience in related fields that did not involve the use and understanding of economic principles and theories may not be used as qualifying experience for these positions. Special attention on this point should be given to certain types of work that may or may not have provided professional economic experience. The following examples of work require special care in such determinations:

1. economic statistics;
2. industrial surveys;
3. management of individual business enterprises, including farms;
4. industrial planning;
5. writing or editorial work in economic subjects; and
6. financial market analysis.

In addition to meeting the basic qualification requirements above, applicants must also meet the specialized experience shown below:

Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level GS-12, in the Federal Service. Specialized Experience is typically in or directly related to the work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and actual experience to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position.

Qualifying specialized experience for GS-13 includes meeting at least 2 of the following:

1. Experience in economic/statistical analysis projects and utilizing statistical software to analyze data (e.g., R, SPSS, SAS).
2. Researching, compiling, and validating large scale economic and/or statistical data.
3. Producing recurring data-based reports in a structured production environment for publication and/or broad distribution to both internal and external stakeholders.
4. Developing and operating statistical and/or economic models, such as regression-based forecasting tools, workload and/or revenue projections, program performance measurement models, and predictive statistical models.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC, WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

There is no substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience at the GS-12 grade level.

Responsibilities:

Major duties for this position:

• Working on the collection, compilation, analysis, and publication of the weekly Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims data.
• Independently planning and conducting complex and difficult economic and statistical analyses involving topics related to agency programs.
• Developing and maintaining statistical data processing and data analysis tools and products using spreadsheet and programming-based applications along with other visual analytics tools.
• Validates files, tables, and charts related to the assignment. Stays abreast of current and planned changes in source data.
• Planning procedures for collecting and tabulating data and recommending new or improved methods.
• Maintaining strict compliance with program data security rules and data verification procedures. Leads the planning and decision-making processes involved in system requirements development, acceptance testing, and implementation of system changes.
• Preparing documentation of procedures, findings, and problems encountered along with recommendations for resolution. Responding to routine inquiries on program areas, as a key subject matter expert.
• Reviewing, updating, and/or creating clear and definitive documentation on new and existing procedures for key areas of responsibility.
• Communicating technical information effectively to varied audiences both orally and in writing in a clear, succinct, and organized manner, as appropriate for the intended audience.
• Solves major economic problems and draws rational inferences based on findings. Identifies and interprets trends and makes relevant economic forecasts based on data.

Salary : $121,785