Duties
The BLS headquarters is currently in the process of relocating within the National Capital Area to Suitland, Maryland. If selected for this position, with an assigned duty station of Suitland, MD (Metropolitan Washington DC area), you may be eligible for limited telework with approval from your supervisor, based on onsite duties and responsibilities, while the new headquarters is being completed. Upon completion of the new headquarters offices in Suitland, MD, you will be expected to report in person to the Suitland Federal Center after receiving notification to do so. At that time, you may be eligible for limited telework, consistent with the telework policies of the Department of Labor, with approval from your supervisor, based on onsite duties and responsibilities, and if consistent with telework policies and mission needs of BLS.
As an Economist with the Division of Producer Price Index (PPI) you will:
- Conduct applied research and participate in studies designed to provide solutions to new and existing needs and problems in industry price measurement and price behavior analysis.
- Review the collected data, price developments, and related factors for assigned areas of the PPI.
- Develop data collection materials and methodologies for assigned areas of the PPI.
- Develop or review hedonic models for application to Quality Adjustments in the PPI.
- Assist staff in developing skills and knowledge of statistical techniques such as regression analysis.
- Serve on or lead Project Teams.
- Direct and participate in special projects to improve industry pricing methodology and to improve index quality.
- Provide on-the-job training, mentoring, and technical expertise to staff as assigned.
- Represent Section on high-level team working on development of program and program-related training for existing Branch of Industry Price (BIP) staff and new hires.
- Responsible for ensuring that all standing pre-pricing production tasks for the Program are completed.
- Participate in Division of Industrial Prices and Price Indexes (DIPPI) monitoring of the automated and manual processes involved in completing index production tasks and either implements or recommends enhancements to the processes.
- Contribute to the ongoing maintenance and enhancement of the Producer Price Index (PPI) Industry Study Manual, which is used by PPI industry analysts.
- Participate in identifying and implementing opportunities for outreach to trade associations and other organizations in support of BIP responsibilities.
- Utilize R, Python, SQL, and other programming languages to prepare and analyze data.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Under the authority of direct hire recruitment, evaluation factors are a tool to gauge one's proficiency in relevant competencies, but will not be used to determine who will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. All candidates who have provided a complete application, and meet the minimum qualification requirements will be referred for consideration. Please review evaluations details here.
Click here for Evaluation details.
You may preview questions for this vacancy here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12588661
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.
INFORMATION FOR ICTAP/CTAP ELIGIBLE(S) ONLY: If you are eligible for special priority selection under ICTAP/CTAP, you must meet the basic and minimum qualification requirements for this position to receive consideration. Be sure to review the eligibility questions to reflect that you are applying as an ICTAP or CTAP eligible and submit supporting documentation.
How to Apply
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To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, including submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section.
Your application and ALL required supplemental documents MUST be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the vacancy closing date to receive consideration.
Application Limits: Your application and ALL required supplemental documents MUST be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the date the application limit was reached or the vacancy closing date, whichever occurs first, to receive consideration.
Paper applications and supplemental documents submitted in any other manner without prior approval from the vacancy contact will not be considered. Click here for information on Reasonable Accommodations.
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STEP 1 - Create USAJOBS Account on www.usajobs.gov, including Resume and Saved Documents. Your resume must provide sufficient information to substantiate your responses to the self-assessment vacancy questions. If not, HR may amend your responses to more accurately reflect the competency indicated by resume content. For each employment period, include start/end month & year and note full-time or part-time (if part-time, include # of hours worked per week) otherwise, your application may be considered incomplete.
STEP 2 - Complete the 1st part of the application process (USAJOBS). Once you have identified a job on USAJOBS that you wish to apply for, click on the job title and then click the Apply button. For questions about the vacancy, contact the Agency Contact at the bottom of the announcement. Proceed through the steps noted at the top of the USAJOBS page. You will be able to select a resume and documents from your USAJOBS Account that you can submit as a package as part of your DOL application. In the final step, once you have certified your application, click the Continue to agency site button.
STEP 3 - Complete the 2nd part of the application process (DOL). On the Department of Labor (DOL) page, create a DOL Account if you have not already and click Apply to this vacancy. Continue through the progress steps at the top of the DOL page. The 2nd progress step is where you answer the vacancy-specific questions. The 3rd progress step Documents is where you submit the required documents (only if applicable to you) specified in the Required Documents section of this vacancy.
STEP 4 - On the Review and Submit step, verify each section of your application is complete and correct. In order to submit your application, you must have a check mark next to each section listed. If there is an X, return to the appropriate section and follow the prompts. When it is ready for submission, certify your application and click the Submit Application button.
STEP 5 - Edit Application by returning to USAJOBS, clicking the vacancy then Update Application. If the vacancy closes on the date the application limit is reached, applicants will no longer be able to edit their applications.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.
For more detailed information on applying for positions with DOL click here to view the U.S. Department of Labor, How to Apply website.
Next steps
Once your complete application is received, we will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications and refer candidates for selection consideration. Candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interviews. You will be notified of the outcome. A selection is expected to be made within 30 calendar days of the issuance date of the certificate.
For instructions on how to check the status of your application, go to USAJOBS Help Guide.
USAJOBS will no longer send status alert email notifications. You can check your application status in the TAS by logging into USAJOBS and in the Applicant Dashboard, click the hiring agency Talent Acquisition System (TAS). If the TAS does not provide application tracking information, contact the agency's point of contact on the job announcement.
To verify that your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, select the Application Status link, and then select the more information link for this position. The Application page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.