Economist Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. DH-25-DAL-ETA-12633682-SLN Department Employment and Training Administration
Salary $117,962.00 to $153,354.00 Grade 13 to 13
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 12/10/2024 Close Date 12/19/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

This position is located in the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Office of Unemployment Insurance (OUI).

This position is inside the bargaining unit.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Open to U.S. citizens; CTAP/ICTAP eligibles in the local commuting area. Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position. Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to this vacancy.

Duties

Major duties for this position are listed below:

  • Working on the collection, compilation, analysis, and publication of the weekly 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.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

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

Qualifications

You must meet the Basic Requirements listed and the "Specialized Experience" to qualify for this position, as described below.

Basic Requirements (Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR):

Degree: Bachelor's or higher degree in economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus.

OR

Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The combined total must equal 100%.

Transcripts must be uploaded to verify the education requirement is met; otherwise, your application cannot be considered and will be marked as incomplete.

In addition to the basic requirements above, you must also meet the specialized experience listed 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 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 is defined as meeting at least 2 of the following:
  • Experience in economic and statistical analysis projects and utilizing statistical software to analyze data (e.g., SPSS, SAS).
  • Researching, compiling, and validating large scale economic and/or statistical software data.
  • Producing recurring data-based reports in a structured production environment for publication and/or broad distribution to both internal and external stakeholders.
There is no education substitution for specialized experience at this grade level.

WHEN DOCUMENTING EXPERIENCE IN YOUR RESUME, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. NO ASSUMPTIONS WILL BE MADE ABOUT YOUR WORK EXPERIENCE.

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 course work requirements for this position.

Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information.

Additional information

This position is being filled through the Direct Hire Authority. Traditional rating and ranking of applications do NOT apply. The Veteran's preference does not apply.

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.

DOL seeks to attract and retain a high-performing and diverse workforce in which employee differences are respected and valued to better meet the varying needs of the diverse customers we serve. DOL fosters a diverse and inclusive work environment that promotes collaboration, flexibility, and fairness so that all individuals can participate and contribute to their full potential.

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

Click here for 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 Department of Labor may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government to attract highly qualified candidates. Click here for Additional Information.

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.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

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/12633682

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.

Required Documents

The following documents must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on the vacancy closing date.

  • Resumes: Required: provide a resume either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one from your profile. To receive full consideration for relevant and specialized experience, please list the month, year, and number of work hours worked for the experience listed on your resume. We also suggest that you preview the vacancy questions and confirm that your resume supports your question responses.
  • Veterans Documents (if applicable): To be considered as a 5-point (TP) preference eligible, you must submit a copy of your DD214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty. Your DD 214 must show the type of discharge and dates of active duty. To claim 10-point (CP/CPS, XP) preference, you must submit a copy of your DD214 and the proof of entitlement of this preference, which is normally an official statement, dated 1991 or later, from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying to the present existence of the service-connected disability and indicating the percentage of your disability. In addition, a Standard Form (SF-15) should be included, but is not required. (For active-duty service members expecting honorable or general discharge or release within 120 days, click Active Duty). For more information, go to Feds Hire Vets - Veterans Preference.
  • Displaced Employee Placement Documents - Only required if requesting priority consideration under CTAP or ICTAP eligibility.
  • Unofficial Transcript(s) (in English): If you are using education as a basis for qualifying for this position, you must submit all applicable academic transcripts demonstrating that you meet the qualifying educational requirements (ex. BA/BS, MA, JD, Ph.D., etc.). If specific coursework is required to qualify, you must supply an unofficial transcript from each academic institution in which the required courses were taken in order to receive credit. You may upload your unofficial transcript(s) as one document with a maximum size limit of 5 MB.

NOTE: The OFFICIAL Transcript(s) MUST BE RECEIVED, if you are selected, and prior to receiving the firm offer with a start date.

Cover Letters are not mandatory and will not be used to verify experience but may be submitted.

Reference the Education Section for College Transcript and Evaluation of Foreign Education.

Do not upload password-protected documents.

Applicants selected for employment who are not current DOL employees will be required to provide proof of citizenship, and the E-Verify system will be used to confirm the employment eligibility of all new hires.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

Persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or have speech disabilities, please dial 711 to access telecommunications relay services.

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.

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.

Important - Save your information before the 30 minute system timeout! For help, go to USAJOBS Help Center.

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 as needed by 11:59 pm Eastern Time of Closing Date by returning to USAJOBS, clicking the vacancy, thenUpdate Application.

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.

Agency contact information

Shasta Needham
Address
Employment and Training Administration
200 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20210
US
Learn more about this agency

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.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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