Economic Assistant (Part-time)

Summary

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is the principal fact-finding agency for the federal government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics. The BLS is an independent national statistical agency that collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates essential statistical data to the American public, the U.S. Congress, other federal agencies, state and local governments, business, and labor. The BLS also serves as a statistical resource to the U.S.

Department of Labor.

Duties

• Work will be performed primarily in Mountainside, NJ, which includes travel throughout the following counties as well: New Jersey: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union Pennsylvania: Pike THIS POSITION IS PART-TIME ONLY AND DOES NOT LEAD TO FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT.
• THIS IS NOT ENTRY LEVEL FOR AN ECONOMIST POSITION.
• The initial average hours per week will be 16 to 32 hours to start depending on workload and training requirements.
• Work schedule will vary week to week depending upon work requirements.
• This is not a job for a person who needs full-time work or who cannot be available for work when required, which includes a mix of day, evening and weekend hours as needed.
• Additionally, this position requires visits to retail stores, businesses, and residences to gather the required information.
• Selectees must travel to the Bureau of Labor Statistics training center in Washington, D.C. or another location if scheduled for mandatory classroom training such as: One (1) week introductory commodities and services (C&S) training and One (1) week of advanced data collection.
• Housing training and some C&S training are accomplished through distance learning.
• Notice will be given of planned training events that require travel.
• Economic Assistants collect prices and related statistical data on a wide variety of commodities, services, and housing for the BLS Consumer Price Index.
• Data for commodities and services are collected by conducting personal and telephone interviews with store managers and buyers, managers in auto dealerships, doctors, pharmacists, and other professionals.
• Data for the housing survey are obtained by personal visit or telephone interview with either property managers, tenants, or homeowners.
• Duties include, but are not limited to: Visiting retail and service establishments such as department stores, supermarkets, medical offices, and hotels to collect retail price data.
• Collecting retail price data from E-commerce websites.
• A limited amount of data is collected by telephone/fax, email, and video.
• Contacting homeowners, renters, and apartment management companies by personal visit to neighborhoods and follow up telephone interviews.
• Collecting and entering data on a handheld computer.
• Ensuring the quality of data collection from each sample unit (establishment or renter) by reviewing electronic collection forms completed on a Tablet PC for internal consistency and for conformance to survey requirements.
• Obtaining voluntary cooperation from survey respondents.
• Traveling to a field office for on-the-job training and periodic meetings.

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.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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/12987401 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. Click here for Evaluation details. USA Hire You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Attention to Detail Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Reading Comprehension Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork The information you provide may be verified by a review of your paid, unpaid, and volunteer 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.). INFORMATION FOR ICTAP/CTAP ELIGIBLE(S) ONLY: If you are eligible for special priority selection under ICTAP/CTAP, you must be well-qualified for the position to receive consideration. ICTAP/CTAP eligible(s) who are Category B or higher will be considered well-qualified. 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 and applicants must 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 Tentative Preference for 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, PhD, 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.
• 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.