Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

Recent Graduate - Economist

Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics
This job announcement has closed

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 is an appointment 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.

Overview

Help
Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
04/26/2023 to 05/05/2023
Salary
$50,094 to - $91,873 per year

Salary will be determined based upon duty location.

Pay scale & grade
GS 7 - 9
Locations
FEW vacancies in the following locations:
San Francisco, CA
Portland, OR
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - Driving conditions include highway & local streets, driving at night and in adverse weather conditions. Temporary travel outside the duty station by various modes of transportation is required.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
12 - There is no obligation to provide future promotions if you are selected. Promotions are dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, meet all the performance requirements, and supervisor's recommendation to the next grade.
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
PW-23-CHI-BLS-11938742
Control number
721833000

This job is open to

Help

Clarification from the agency

Eligible recent graduates from qualifying educational institutions.  Note: Students who are expected to graduate in the Spring 2023 term may apply.

Duties

Help

This position is with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Field Operations, Division of Compensation and Occupational Requirements (DCOR).

Duties include but are not limited to:

  • The incumbent plans, schedules, and conducts data collection assignments using fairly complex economic or statistical techniques which are covered by established methods and procedures. Work requires some adaptation of established procedures, the recognition of the significance of variations, and interpretation of limited findings.
  • Makes arrangements preparatory to obtaining voluntary data from enterprises for which the collection of data is expected to present relatively few complexities and for which precedents exist. Applies standard practices and techniques to the solicitation of data and reports information in accordance with survey requirements.
  • Evaluates the data collected and makes adjustments or follow-up contact with respondents to ensure reliability and comparability as well as reasonableness and conformance to survey requirements.
  • Prepares end-of-survey reports that critically evaluate collection experiences in relations to survey design and specifications, survey materials, economic conditions affecting the industry and area studied, and trends in the industry and area. Recommends modifications in survey methods oriented toward improvements in the survey plan.
Duties at the GS-07 and GS-09 are development leading up to the full performance level of the GS-12

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

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

Qualifications

Applicants must meet the Basic Requirements AND Minimum qualifications for each grade they wish to be considered for.

Basic Requirements for the Economist, GS-0110 series:

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.

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

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: Applying economic principles, standard practices and techniques to the solicitation and collection of economic data or information for surveys/projects in accordance with requirements; analyzing and interpreting economic information to recognize variances and discrepancies; and preparing reports based on collected information and recommending improvements.

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.

  1. 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 courses.
  2. 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 4 years 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. Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9.
  3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society. A list of acceptable honor societies can be found at https://www.achsnatl.org/quick_link.asp

GS-9: 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree.

OR

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.

Education

To be eligible for an appointment, you must meet requirement A or B.

A. 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

B. 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 you do not submit sufficient academic documentation demonstrating that you meet the eligibility and MQR for this position, your application will be deemed incomplete & 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

Position may be located in San Francisco, CA or Portland, OR. Final duty location and salary will be determined at the time of selection.

Delegated Examining Unit (DEU) Authorization No. DOL-1

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

Notification Concerning COVID-19 Vaccinations. As required by Executive Order 14043, Federal executive branch employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 regardless of the employee's duty location or work arrangement (e.g., telework, remote work, etc.), subject to such exceptions as required by law. If selected, you will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and to submit documentation of proof of vaccination or to be in the process of requesting an exception to the vaccination requirement before appointment or onboarding with the agency. The agency will provide additional information regarding which forms of documentation can be accepted and how you can request to be considered for a legally required exception from this requirement.

Currently, the implementation and enforcement of Executive Order 14043 has been suspended pursuant to an injunction.

Applicants must meet all legal and regulatory requirements. Reference the "Required Documents" section for additional requirements.

This appointment is under the DOL Recent Graduates program. The program duration is one year.

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.

This position is included in the bargaining unit.

Full performance level is GS-12.There is no obligation to provide future promotions if you are selected. Promotions are dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, meet all the performance requirements, and the supervisor's recommendation to the next grade.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Applicants meeting the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements will be evaluated against the competencies described below and will be placed into one of the following quality categories, based on responses to the vacancy questionnaire:

Category A - Meets the basic qualification requirements for the vacancy and has successful experience in the same or similar job that has demonstrated superior proficiency in applying the critical competencies required by this position to work of increased levels of difficulty and complexity.

Category B - Meets the basic qualification requirements for the vacancy and demonstrates satisfactory proficiency in the critical competencies by this position.

Category C - Meets the specialized experience described in the minimum qualification requirements section of this announcement and demonstrates proficiency in the basic competencies.

Evaluation Factors (Competencies) - All qualified applicants will be evaluated on the following key competencies:

  • Customer Service
  • Economics
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Oral Communication
  • Technology Application


The information you provide may be verified by a review of your paid, unpaid, volunteer, and other lived experience, as it demonstrates the competencies or skills required for the position to be filled. Your evaluation may include an interview, reference checks, or other assessment conducted by HR specialists, subject matter experts, or panel members and may include other assessment tools (ex. interview, structured interview, written test, work sample, etc.). The examining Office of Human Resources (OHR) makes the final determination concerning applicant ratings. Your resume MUST provide sufficient information to substantiate your vacancy question responses. If not, the OHR may amend your responses to more accurately reflect the level of competency indicated by the content of your resume.

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.