Traineeship in the Directorate General Economics – Supply Side, Labour and Surveillance Division

Economics

13260

General Information
Type of contract Traineeship

Who can apply? EU nationals eligible for our traineeship programme

Grant The trainee grant is €1,170 per month plus an accommodation allowance (see further information section)

Working time Full time

Place of work Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Closing date 20.02.2026

Your team You will be part of the Supply Side, Labour and Surveillance Division in the Directorate General Economics. Our Division comprises around 30 staff carrying out analytical work which focuses on labour market developments, longer-term productivity trends and other factors driving economic growth and potential output in the euro area, such as innovation, digitalisation, artificial intelligence and policy responses to climate change. The team also conducts country surveillance and cross-country studies, contributes to the Eurosystem macroeconomic projections and looks into economic issues relating to EU governance and policies. We also contribute to ECB publications such as the Economic Bulletin, Annual Report, Working Paper Series and Occasional Paper Series.

In your role as a trainee, you will be part of the Division’s Data Centre, which is made up of five trainees and headed by a research analyst. The Data Centre closely collaborates with economists across the Supply Side, Labour and Surveillance Division, supporting and contributing to divisional notes, briefings and publications. This can include producing charts and graphs on labour market and supply-side developments, helping with country monitoring and forecasting, building and maintaining datasets, drafting data commentaries and contributing to analytical projects in collaboration with the Division’s economists.

The ECB is an inclusive employer and we strive to reflect the diversity of the population we serve. We encourage you to apply irrespective of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or other characteristics.

Your role As a trainee you will:

• help the team process data and produce charts and graphs;
• participate in developing a database infrastructure using both aggregate macro time series data and microdata;
• contribute to quantitative analysis for economic and policy assessments;
• help maintain analytical, econometric and forecasting tools;
• contribute to the Economic Bulletin and other regular internal and external publications produced by the Directorate General Economics, in collaboration with other business areas within the ECB.

The traineeship offers you excellent opportunities to work closely with the Division’s economists and research analysts and to contribute to analytical and policy-related tasks. You will work alongside other trainees and will be assigned a supervisor. You will also be expected to complete tasks on your own initiative and to work independently. You will be part of a multicultural team that strives for continuous innovation to make a positive impact on the lives of European citizens.

Qualifications, experience and skills Essential:

• a bachelor’s degree or higher in economics, finance, statistics, data science or another relevant field;
• a sound understanding of macroeconomics, with a particular focus on labour markets and economic growth;
• experience with one or more of the following types of economic data: macroeconomic data, firm-level data, high-frequency data, panel data, survey data, other microdata or large datasets (i.e. big data);
• a sound understanding of econometrics, including either time series models or applied microeconomics;
• proficiency in econometrics software packages such as MATLAB or Stata;
• a good knowledge of the MS Office package;
• an advanced (C1) command of English and an intermediate (B1) command of at least one other official language of the EU, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Desired:

• a master’s degree in economics, finance, statistics, data science or another relevant field (completed or close to completion);
• knowledge of programming languages such as R or Python;
• experience with VBA in Excel and SQL database management;
• knowledge of, or experience in, data science and artificial intelligence (e.g. machine learning techniques, text analysis, large language models and APIs);
• exposure to version control tools such as Git.

You are curious and eager to learn, and want to further develop your ability to analyse complex information. You are keen to collaborate with others, pursue team goals and learn from other people’s diverse perspectives. You strive to know and anticipate stakeholder needs, and will signal any need for change and propose alternative solutions.

You are motivated to contribute to the ECB’s mission, to serve the citizens of the EU as a member of a public institution and to work with colleagues from all over Europe. You are keen to be part of our team and to use your skills and competencies to achieve the aims of this position.

Further information Initial traineeship of 6 months, with a possible extension to up to 12 months in total.

Other details on the conditions applicable to traineeships at the ECB can be found on our website.

For additional information on this specific vacancy, you can speak to Daphne Momferatou on +49 (0)69 1344 5758 between 15:00 and 16:00 on Monday, 9 February.

Application and selection process The recruitment process for this position will include an online interview.

Further information on how to apply is available on our website.

If you are not selected for this position but are still considered suitable, you will be placed on a reserve list for 12 months from the closing date for applications, from which you might be considered for other traineeship positions within the ECB.