Economist

Clarification from the agency

Open to applicants who have graduated, within the past two years, (with an associate, bachelor, master, professional, doctorate, diploma, vocational, technical degree, or certificate, etc.) from a qualifying educational institution or career or technical education program (including registered Apprenticeship Programs, Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Job Corps, Climate Corps). Note: Students who graduated or anticipate to graduate Summer 2026 term may apply.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Collects data from businesses for the Producer Price Index (PPI) and the Import/Export Price Indexes (MXP).
• Plans, schedules, and conducts data collection assignments using fairly complex economic or statistical techniques which are covered by established methods and procedures.
• 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.
• Performs internet research on sampled companies, makes phone calls to schedule appointments, and travels to sampled establishments. Conducts interviews with high-level company officials. 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 to ensure reliability and comparability as well as reasonableness and conformance to survey requirements.
• Makes follow-up contact to respondents providing data to ensure accurate and timely survey results. While most data requirements are straight forward, some analysis is necessary to ensure that the data reported are accurate.
• 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.
• Performs other duties as assigned. For training and development purposes, assignments may include some segments or aspects of work that are typically at a higher level.

Conditions of employment

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

Qualifications

Applicants must have graduated, within the past two years, (with an associate, bachelor, master, professional, doctorate, diploma, vocational, technical degree, or certificate, etc.) from a qualifying educational institution or career or technical educational program including registered Apprenticeship Programs, Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Job Corps, Climate Corps).

You must meet the Basic Requirements and the Specialized Experience to qualify for Economist, as described below.

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.

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

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 should include a thorough range of complex economic professional work.

GS-09: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-07, in the Federal Service.

Qualifying specialized experience includes: Contacted sampled establishments to schedule appointments and conduct interviews; Secured voluntary cooperation and interviewed company officials to collect data from businesses or other survey respondents for timely survey results; Made follow up contact to respondents for necessary clarification to ensure accuracy of data provided.

OR

Education Substitution:

GS-09: 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree.

OR

Combination of Education and Specialized Experience:

GS-09: Graduate education (more than one year but less than two) and specialized experience as required for GS-09 (less than one year) that when combined totals one year. Only graduate education beyond the first year (18 semester hours or quarter hour equivalent) can be combined with experience to total one year.

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.

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.

Click Application of Veterans Preference for more information.

You may preview application questions for this vacancy here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13027249

If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be evaluated against the evaluation factors below and will be placed into a category based on your vacancy question responses.

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 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 required 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.

Clickhere for Evaluation details.

USA Hire

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):



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.).

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

The following documents are required from ALL applicants (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY):

• Resumes are required: Provide a resume either by creating one in USAJOBS or upload one from their computer and USAJOBS 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.
• Proof of Eligibility: Academic transcript, a copy of a diploma, certificate, industry-recognized credential awarded from a qualifying career or technical educational program, or other official documentation from the qualifying educational institution showing that you meet the eligibility requirements for a Recent Graduate appointment, as described in the Qualifications and Education sections of this announcement. (The Department of Labor Career One Stop offers a certification finder to help identify a variety of industry-endorsed certifications.)
• If you are claiming extended eligibility due to military service performed during the two-year period following graduation, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing the dates of such service. (For active duty service members expecting to be honorably discharged or released within 120 days, click Active Duty).
• Proof of Qualifications: Academic transcripts are sufficient to demonstrate that you meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, as described in this announcement, where you are seeking to qualify, at least in part, on the basis of your education. See Qualifications and Evaluations.

The following documents are required if applicable:

• 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.
• 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.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

- your performance and conduct;
- the needs and interests of the agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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