Economist

Federal Reserve Board
Washington, DC
Date Posted:  November 1, 2021
Closing Date:  November 15, 2021

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System seeks to hire a person to contribute significantly to the production and ongoing innovations to the Board’s G.17 Statistical Release on Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization (IP/CU). The new hire is also 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. The new hire will be a key member of this team and will be expected to perform a number of functions related to the production, dissemination, and analysis of the Board’s monthly IP/CU statistics. The main responsibilities include the following:

  • Learn and run the processes that produce the Board’s monthly statistics on industrial production and capacity utilization.
  • Learn and run the processes necessary to conduct the comprehensive annual revision to industrial production and capacity utilization.
  • Develop and implement improvements both to the measurement of industrial production and 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.

Job Requirements:

  • Ph.D. in economics, statistics, or a related field is preferred.
  • Strong programming skills.
    • The IP/CU system is currently implemented using FAME for its main databases and as its primary programming environment. New hires are not expected to have familiarity with FAME, but they do need to be willing to learn it and will be expected to program heavily in it.
  • Strong data and measurement skills, and an understanding of economics and time series econometrics.
  • Strong communication skills.
    • The new hire in this role 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.
  • Ability to work collaboratively and independently.
    • The new hire 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.

Job candidates should:

  • Possess an interest in measurement and the macroeconomy.
  • Demonstrate proficiency in programming, ideally in multiple languages.
  • Be able to come up with 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, time series econometrics, and seasonal adjustment practices.
  • Have excellent written and oral communication skills.
  • Be comfortable working both collaboratively and independently.
  • Ideally have previous work experience in economic measurement.