Duties

Typically, an economist is involved in activities that support the Board's efforts in monetary policy and financial regulation: the analysis and forecasting of developments in the domestic and international economies and financial markets, analysis of options for regulatory decisions, development and maintenance of relevant economic data, or long-range research aimed at improving the theoretical and quantitative analysis used at the Board and by the economics profession generally.

About the Role

The Federal Reserve Board's Industrial Output (IO) team seeks an economist to contribute to the production and ongoing innovations to the Board's G.17 Statistical Release on Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization (IP/CU). The new team member will also be expected to provide support to other efforts to measure the evolving industrial economy.

The Federal Reserve maintains high standards for its statistics, and the IP/CU team is professional, collegial, and intellectually curious. This individual will be a key member of the team and expected to perform several functions related to the production, dissemination, and analysis of the Board's monthly IP/CU statistics. The main responsibilities include:

• Learning and running the processes to produce the Board's monthly statistics on industrial production and capacity utilization.
• Use knowledge of time series econometrics to process and standardize data series tracked at different frequencies and perform seasonal adjustment on these data.
• Develop and implement improvements both to the measurement of industrial production or capacity utilization as well as the IP/CU infrastructure, particularly as the industrial sector evolves and data availability changes.
• Conduct economic analysis and research on the industrial sector and deliver oral and written presentations to senior Federal Reserve officials.
• Communicate with Board officials and members of the public.

About the Team

The Industrial Output section produces the Board's monthly indexes of industrial production and capacity utilization. Research on measurement of real output, seasonal adjustment, and filtering techniques supports this work. The section also conducts research using disaggregated or microdata to analyze trends in industry productivity and inflation.

Responsibilities

• Strong programming skills, strong data and measurement skills, and an understanding of economics and time series econometrics.
  • The IP/CU system is currently implemented using the MarketMap Analytic Platform from MathWorks (formerly FAME) for its main databases and as its primary programming environment. The new hire is not expected to have familiarity with MarketMap/FAME, but a willingness to learn it and consider how any code they write will interact with the existing data and coding infrastructure is needed.
• This team member is expected to provide oral and written updates on the state of the industrial sector to Federal Reserve officers, colleagues, and members of the public, requiring strong communication skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively and independently.
• This team member will work closely with the small team that produces the IP/CU statistics. At times, the new hire will also need to work independently and with little supervision.
• Ability to foster a creative, cooperative, and inclusive team environment where diverse viewpoints are welcomed and respected.

Candidates should:

• Possess an interest in economic measurement and the macroeconomy.
• Be proficient in time series econometrics and seasonal adjustment practices.
• Be able to develop thoughtful and creative ways to use data to address questions about economic activity.
• Have a careful eye for detail, particularly with respect to data.
• Have an understanding of micro- and macro-economic relationships.
• Have excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Be comfortable working both collaboratively and independently.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

All employees of the Federal Reserve Board must be U.S. citizens or intending citizens.

Non-U.S. citizens will be required to sign a declaration of intent to pursue U.S. citizenship when eligible to do so as a stipulation of employment. In addition, non-green card holders who are citizens of certain restricted countries are ineligible for employment.

Qualifications

FR-28: An economist at this grade level must have demonstrated knowledge of and competence in the application of advanced theoretical and quantitative techniques in economics, finance, or a closely related field.

Candidates must have a Ph.D. in economics, finance, or a related discipline, or must be nearing completion of their doctoral dissertation. This economist must have demonstrated strong analytical abilities, familiarity with relevant economic institutions and available data sources, good communications skills.

FR-29: An economist at this grade level must have demonstrated knowledge of and competence in the application of advanced theoretical and quantitative techniques in economics, finance, or a closely related field.

Candidates must have a Ph.D. in economics, finance, or a related discipline, plus a minimum of three years of related post-PhD experience. An economist at this grade level has developed substantial expertise in one or more specialized areas and is able to provide in-depth analysis of complex issues using advanced theoretical and quantitative techniques. The economist must have strong analytical abilities, familiarity with relevant economic institutions and available data sources, excellent communications skills, sensitivity to the Board's priorities.

FR-30: A principal economist must have demonstrated knowledge of and competence in the application of advanced theoretical and quantitative techniques in economics, finance, or a closely related field. Candidates must have a Ph.D. in economics, finance, or a related discipline, plus a minimum of four years of related post-PhD experience. A principal economist has the knowledge, judgment, and skill to isolate fundamental economic issues and to carry out--with minimal supervision--especially sensitive or complex tasks. The principal economist must display either unusual breadth or exceptional ability in an important specialty. The principal economist must have extraordinary analytical abilities in an economic specialty or detailed knowledge of relevant economic institutions and available data sources as well as outstanding communication skills, maturity of judgment, sensitivity to the Board's priorities. A principal economist must exhibit organizational skills and understanding of relevant issues required to manage large- scale projects that may involve several economists and other staff. The principal economist may have unusual knowledge and skills in the development, manipulation, and interpretation of major databases.

Education

Candidates must hold Ph.D. in economics, statistics, or a related field, or be nearing completion (ABD).