Economist

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Performs duties designed to develop basic competency in the presentation evaluation and analysis of data prepared by the Bureau.
• Serves as the initial professional contact for the offices callers and visitors and supplies BLS statistics and publications to data users.
• Stays abreast of the activities of both public and private organizations whose services are complementary/relevant to BLS in the broad area of labor economics and statistics.
• Uses information technology and applicable databases or software to maintain and disseminate data.
• Prepares routine BLS press releases which includes updating tables writing text proofreading/editing and submitting coordinated press releases to national office for publication clearance.

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

Applicants must meet the Basic Requirements and the Minimum qualifications to qualify for each series and grade they wish to be considered for.

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 (KSAs) 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 in the federal service. Specialized experience should include a thorough range of economic professional work.

GS-07: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level GS-05 in the Federal Service.

Examples of qualifying experience: Apply standard practices and techniques to the solicitation and collection of economic information or data for surveys or projects; analyze or interpret economic or statistical information in order to identify and recommend solutions to discrepancies; or draft reports based on collected information.

OR

Education Substitution:

GS-07: 1 year of graduate-level education or superior academic achievement. Superior Academic Achievement is based on (1) class standing (2) grade-point average or (3) honor society membership.

1. Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college university or major subdivision such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration based on completed courses.
2. Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- Applicants must have a grade-point average of: 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 (B or better) as recorded on their official transcript or as computed based on 4 years of education or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 (B or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.
3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society. A list of acceptable honor societies can be found at Association of College Honor Societies

OR

Combination of Education and Specialized Experience:

GS-07: An appropriate combination of graduate level education and specialized experience.

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.