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Economist / Statistician (Economics)

Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Chicago Regional Office

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 Regional Office, Division of Compensation and Occupational Requirements.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
04/13/2026 to 04/23/2026
Salary
$106,437 - $138,370 per year

The salary listed reflects the Rest of U.S. locality rate; the final salary will be determined at selection based on the duty location.

Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Location Negotiable After Selection
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—Selectee will report to an assigned DOL office location on a regular basis and is eligible for participation in telework as determined by management in accordance with DOL policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None - This position is at the full performance level.
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
Yes - NCFLL
Announcement number
MS-26-CHI-BLS-12934442-SAS
Control number
864999700

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Current Federal, Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics employees with competitive status nationwide; CTAP eligibles in the local commuting area.

Duties

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Duties include but are not limited to:

  • Works with National Office staff to design and implement a national training program that will be used to train all new hires supporting the NCS and ORS programs.
  • Provides training to staff to improve survey collection procedures and survey non-response; and assists journey-level Field Economists in developing strategies for soliciting participation from critical respondents in multiple BLS surveys.
  • Develops data collection and response turnaround training based on a thorough knowledge of the socio-economic conditions of the region or area.
  • Develops and conducts national training workshops and provides on-the-job training for field staff on the more complex industries and procedures.
  • Participates on national teams which address program related issues and problems that are nationwide in scope.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen.
  • Must be at least 16 years old.
  • Candidate required to obtain the necessary security/investigation level.
  • Requires a probationary period if the requirement has not been met.

Qualifications

This is an interdisciplinary position and may be filled either as an Economist or Statistician (Economics).

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 Requirements above, applicants must also meet the minimum qualifications to be considered.

For GS-13: Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, 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 and includes professional experience with economic or statistical theory, principles, and research methods.

Qualifying specialized experience includes ALL of the following:

  • Individual economic assignments, such as data collection or data review, that require planning, information assembly, demonstration of procedural knowledge, analysis and evaluation, conclusions, and report preparation; and
  • Member of a project team that included developing recommendations for system requirements or recommendation to management for process improvement, or provided mentoring or on-the job training/couching; and
  • Participated in the development and delivery of training materials.

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.

Education

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

LOCATION: This position can be filled in one of the BLS Chicago Regional Offices:

Chicago, IL
Cincinnati, OH
Cleveland, OH
Indianapolis, IN
Detroit, MI
Milwaukee, WI
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
Cedar Rapids, IA

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.

Refer to these links for more information: GENERAL INFORMATION, REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION, ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION, FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

As a condition of employment, all personnel must undergo a background investigation for access to DOL facilities, systems, information and/or classified materials before they can enter on duty: BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION

This position is inside the bargaining unit. If the duty location is within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the position will be included in the Local 12, AFGE bargaining unit. If the duty location is outside the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the position will be included in the NCFLL bargaining unit.

For more information, click Telework Position Information. This is not a remote work position. The selectee will report to an assigned DOL office location on a regular basis and is eligible for participation in telework as determined by management in accordance with DOL policy.

Based on agency needs, additional positions may be filled using this vacancy.

The Fair Chance Act (FCA) prohibits Federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment. If you believe a DOL employee has violated your rights under the FCA, you may file a complaint of the alleged violation following our agency's complaint process Guidelines for Reporting Violations of the Fair Chance Act.

Note: The FCA does not apply to some positions specified under the Act, such as law enforcement or national security positions.

All Department of Labor employees are subject to the provisions of the Drug-Free Workplace Program under Executive Order 12564 and Public Law 100-71.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your evaluation will be based on how well you meet the qualifications outlined in this vacancy announcement, as demonstrated through your resume and supporting documentation.

You may preview application questions for this vacancy here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12934442

SME Resume Panel Review

Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) will review your resume to assess your technical qualifications based on the competencies listed below. Applicants who meet the required qualifications will advance to the next stage of the hiring process.

For each below competency, SME(s) will provide a rating of 0-Not Applicable, 1-Awareness, 2-Basic, 3-Intermediate, 4-Advanced, or 5-Expert based on the content of your resume.

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

  • Conflict Management
  • Creative Thinking
  • Problem Solving
  • Teaching Others
  • Teamwork


Click here for evaluation details.

The information you provide may be verified by a review of your paid, unpaid, and volunteer, 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.).

INFORMATION FOR CTAP ELIGIBLE(S) ONLY: If you are eligible for special priority selection under CTAP, you must be well-qualified for the position to receive consideration. CTAP eligible(s) will be considered well-qualified if they attain at least a rating score of 85 in a numerical rating scheme. Be sure to review the eligibility questions to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP eligible and submit supporting documentation.

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Begin a challenging career with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and you will help shape the workforce of tomorrow. DOL offers rewarding opportunities to contribute to a noble mission; to serve and protect American workers, prepare them for new and better jobs, and to ensure the safety and fairness of American workplaces.

The Department of Labor values its customers. Every DOL employee is responsible for delivering good customer service through accurate, courteous, efficient, and effective transactions.

The Department of Labor does not make unfavorable hiring decisions on the basis of an applicant's previous or current unemployment, or the fact that an applicant has experienced financial difficulty through no fault of his/her own and has undertaken good faith efforts to meet his/her financial obligations. Consideration is given to financial status in relation to appointments only where required by law, regulation, or Executive Order.

Applicants with disabilities can contact the vacancy point of contact listed on the job vacancy announcement to request reasonable accommodations needed for the application process.

Agency contact information

Sara Schnitz
Phone
(312) 353-0839
Email
schnitz.sara.a@dol.gov
Address
Bureau of Labor Statistics
200 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20210
US

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