Description

Joining our team means working in a welcoming environment that recognizes and values the contributions of all team members, regardless of their background or identity. We welcome applications from candidates with diverse skills and experiences who share our commitment to inclusion and collaboration!

The Data Architecture, Transformation and Analytics (DATA) Division of ESD supports the agency mission and the employment process by providing businesses, individuals, and other customers with the labor market information they need to succeed in a changing economy. The Economic Analyst 3 position contributes to the achievement of the organization’s mission by directing and overseeing the overall quality assurance of unemployment insurance (UI) data and reporting.

Duties

Some of what your duties may look like:

• Design and develop research methods and procedures, statistical techniques, and economic models to collect, analyze, estimate, measure data trends and impacts to ensure UI data and reporting are as accurate as possible. Use alternative data sources to test and provide a broader perspective necessary to understand the landscape of Washingtonians within the UI landscape.
• Coordinate, collaborate, or work with the DATA division, other divisions, and their programs to gather definitions, verify queries or assess the quality of data or data-gathering process to ensure reports are within USDOL’s prescribed levels of accepted variance.
• Forecast economic variables and UI outcomes of multiple economic conditions and provide forecasts of future UI levels. This includes annual initial claims and seasonally adjusted claims forecasts. Evaluate and text model to improve forecasts.
• Use spreadsheets, databases, and statistical software packages or languages to store, organize, simulate, and evaluate economic data. Gather, input, prepare and clean raw data to use in analyses, forecasts, and program activities. Extract and share data with customers according to their business needs and confidentiality requirements.
• Design and develop research methods and procedures, statistical techniques, and economic models to collect, analyze, estimate, and measure data trends and impacts to identify the data inequalities that persist in the ESD UI system.
• Prepare reports and fact sheets to present results of major economic studies using a combination of reporting techniques including graphics and “plain talk” writing.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• 
  A master’s degree or equivalent in a Ph.D. program* in economics, public finance, or closely allied field; and three years of professional experience in economic analysis.

OR

• Two years as an Economic Analyst in State service.

• Professional experience in economic analysis may be substituted, year for year, for the required education, provided a bachelor’s degree in economics, public finance or closely allied field has been obtained. Additional graduate training in economics or public finance may be substituted, year for year, for experience.

Preferred/Desired Qualifications:

• A graduate degree in economics, statistics, mathematics, or social sciences with strong quantitative skills.
• Demonstrated ability to use Excel's advanced functions such as logical, pivot, lookup, reference, math, and statistical functions.
• Demonstrated ability to create tables, queries and other objects using tools such as SQL.
• Demonstrated ability to understand and apply algorithms using computer programming logic and languages such as R, SAS, or SQL.
• Demonstrated ability to use specialized software (for example, SAS, R or SQL) to collect data from large databases (big data or internal databases), create data sets for econometric or statistical analysis and conduct econometric or statistical analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to write technical and plain language reports.
• Demonstrated ability to review and edit peer's reports for a general or technical audience.
• Demonstrated ability to interact confidently and effectively with stakeholders, customers, researchers, and other audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to manage projects.

Additional Requirements of Employment:

• Must be able to pass a UI Claim & Benefit Information Review.
• Per Gov. Inslee’s Directive 22-13.1, employees of the Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the final dose of an authorized COVID-19 vaccine series. As a condition of employment, ESD employees are required to provide proof of vaccination before starting work. A medical or religious exemption may be requested for accommodation.

Please submit your Cover Letter and Resume with your Online Application through the "Add Attachments" field. A resume will not substitute for the "work experience" section of the application or vice versa. Applications with blank fields or supplemental question responses with comments such as "see attachments" may be considered incomplete.

Supplemental Information

Our agency's mission and values drive every decision that we make, determine how we interact with others, and are at the core of who we are. We value Collaboration, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Innovation, and Integrity, Investing in our people, and Service with kindness. We understand that a work environment that respects your work/life balance is key; that's why many of our positions are eligible for flexible work schedules and teleworking opportunities. Through support, value, and trust, our employees are empowered to grow and develop into their best self.

Opportunity for All
We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, ethnic, racial, religious, sexual orientation, and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, people over 40 years of age, people with religious beliefs, veterans or people with military status, and people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are encouraged to apply.

If you are a person needing assistance in the application process, if you need this job announcement in an alternate format, or if you have general questions about this opportunity, please contact Amber.Cetinel@esd.wa.gov or the Talent Acquisition Team, or Washington Relay Service 711. If you are having technical difficulties creating, accessing, or completing your application, please contact careershelp@des.wa.gov or (360) 664-1960 or toll free (877) 664-1960, Washington Relay 711.