Duties

Work is primarily in Philadelphia, PA but includes travel throughout the following counties:

Delaware: New Castle
Maryland: Cecil
New Jersey: Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem
Pennsylvania: Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia

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. up to two times during the first year for mandatory classroom training as follows: Two (2) week introductory commodities and services training and One (1) week of advanced data collection. Housing training is accomplished through distance learning.

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:

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Requires a valid drivers license.
• Must be at least 16 years old and a U.S. Citizen.
• Appointment to this position may require a background investigation.
• Requires a probationary period.

Applicants must meet all legal and regulatory requirements. Reference the "Required Documents" section for additional requirements.

Notification Concerning COVID-19 Vaccinations. As required by Executive Order 14043, Federal executive branch employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 regardless of the employee's duty location or work arrangement (e.g., telework, remote work, etc.), subject to such exceptions as required by law. If selected, you will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and to submit documentation of proof of vaccination or to be in the process of requesting an exception to the vaccination requirement before appointment or onboarding with the agency. The agency will provide additional information regarding which forms of documentation can be accepted and how you can request to be considered for a legally required exception from this requirement.

Currently, implementation and enforcement of Executive Order 14043 has been suspended pursuant to an injunction pending further litigation.

How You Will Be Evaluated

• 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.

• Required Documents

  As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.

  The following documents must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on the vacancy closing date. You are not required to submit a document if it does not apply to you. Warning: If you submit a document using the same document title, the 2nd submission will OVERWRITE the 1st submission. Also, do not upload password-protected documents.

  - Resumes are 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 the 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 preference eligible, you must submit a copy of your Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty, DD214. Your DD-214 must show the type of discharge and dates of active duty. To claim 10-point preference, you must submit a copy of your DD214; an Application for 10-point Veteran's Preference, SF15; 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. (For active duty service members expecting honorable or general discharge or release within 120 days, click Active Duty). Without this documentation, you will not receive veteran's preference. For more information, go to https://www.fedshirevets.gov

  • Displaced Employee Placement Documents – Only required if requesting priority consideration under CTAP or ICTAP eligibility.

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

  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.

  - 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 (3 MB size limit). If over 3 MB, please submit via fax feature.

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

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

  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

  To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, including submission of the required documentation specified in the "Required Documents" section.

  Follow the steps below to apply. Your application and ALL required supplemental documents MUST be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time (ET) 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.

  SAVE your information before the 30 MINUTE 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 title and click the "Apply" button. For questions about the vacancy, contact the Agency Contact at the bottom of the announcement. Click “Start Application” and proceed through the 5 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. At Step 5, click “Continue to Agency Site”.

  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 7 progress steps indicated by circles at the top of the DOL page. The 3rd progress step is where you answer the vacancy specific questions. The 4th progress step "Documents" is where you submit required documents (only if applicable to you) specified in the "Required Documents" section of this vacancy. If you submit a document using the same document title, the 2nd submission will OVERWRITE the 1st submission.

  STEP 4 – On the “Review and Submit” step, click “Submit Application” The last “Confirmation” step will turn green noting that your application was submitted successfully.

  STEP 5 - Edit Application as needed by 11:59 pm ET of Closing Date by returning to USAJOBS, clicking the vacancy, then “Update Application”.

  Agency contact information

  Mitchell Desy

  Phone

  312-353-1591

  TDD

  711

  Email

  desy.mitchell.t@dol.gov

  Address

  Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
  230 S. Dearborn St.
  Chicago, Illinois 60604
  United States

  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 interview. You will be notified of the outcome. A selection is expected to be made within 30 calendar days from 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 point of contact on the job announcement.

• Fair and Transparent

  The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.

  • Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy
  • Reasonable accommodation policy
  • Financial suitability
  • Selective Service
  • New employee probationary period
  • Signature and false statements
  • Privacy Act
  • Social security number request

Required Documents

Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens; Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program and Career Transition Assistance Program eligibles in the local commuting area.