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. The position is located in the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Field Operations, Philadelphia Region. This position is inside the bargaining unit. This is an interdisciplinary position and may be filled either as an Economist or Statistician (Economics).

Duties

Duties include, but are not limited to the following: Develops strategies to gain participation and collect data from critical, highly weighted respondents in numerous labor market surveys for BLS. Negotiates cooperation with high level corporate officials and utilizes alternative collection strategies for maximizing cooperation. Provides guidance and suggestions to wage staff for handling problem companies. Develops and tests new data transfer approaches using advanced technology. Assists in the direction of a regional survey response program; works with staff to improve cooperation rates; analyzes refusal trends; and makes recommendations to regional management Develops data collection plans based on a thorough knowledge of the socio-economic conditions of the region or area; knowledge of industry trends and practices; an understanding of the surveys' conceptual foundation and procedural requirements; knowledge of alternative strategies for maximizing cooperation; and a thorough knowledge of computer systems for electronic reporting. Develops and conducts regional training workshops and provides on-the-job training for field staff on the more complex industries and procedures. Performs wage data analysis in such areas as quality program outputs, i.e., SDA and TRP, and other national data bases in order to improve overall performance. Recommends improvements to promote consistent production and quality among staff. Analyzes the IDC, TRP and SDA data bases to identify future training needs, and to propose methodological and procedural changes aimed at improving quality and productivity. Participates in collecting cross-survey programs or test surveys in order to provide expert guidance on program design or collection procedures enhancements. Works with members of the Regional Economic Analysis and Information Unit to develop an outreach and information program to support publicizing new program products, as well as to maximize survey response. Develops industry specific outreach materials for field staff distribution to respondents.

Requirements

• 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.
• Requires a valid driver's license.
• Subject to financial disclosure requirements.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet the eligibility requirements of time-in-grade (52 weeks at the next lower grade), time-after-competitive-appointment (90 days), and minimum qualifications (52 weeks equivalent to the next lower grade in federal service). These requirements must be met within 30 days of the announcement closing date. 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 Requirement above, applicants must also meet the minimum qualifications to be considered. For GS-13: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level 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 includes: Extensive professional knowledge and background of economic theory or statistics to collect, analyze and interpret information and economic patterns, and a mastery of wage survey collection concepts, techniques and procedures. A mastery of compensation survey programs and prevalent practices in the areas of wage and salary administration, occupational job requirements, employee benefits, employee relations and organizational design. Knowledge of interviewing, interpersonal communication, and negotiating techniques to maximize the level of participation from sophisticated and high level corporate or governmental officials. 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.

Contacts

• Address Bureau of Labor Statistics 200 Constitution Avenue NW Washington, DC 20210 US
• Name: Yanitza Roman
• Phone: 312-596-5400
• Email: [email protected]