We welcome you to JobBank USA and hope your job hunting experience
is a pleasant one. We hope you find our resources useful.
February 2, 2009
Help Wanted: Census workers. Pay starts at $15 an hour.
Jobless claims just hit a record peak. Layoff news is rattling New Hampshire. But the federal government is hiring -- more than 700 jobs across the state -- for the 2010 Census.
The U.S. Census Bureau recently opened an office in Concord to carry out early operations for the 2010 Census. A second office will open by fall.
For the first census in 1790, U.S. marshals on horseback rode town to town to count heads. For 2010, workers will use global-positioning units and hand-held computers to collect the information.
Employees for this spring will be developing a master list of addresses and geographic boundaries. They include listers, office clerks, recruiting assistants, crew leaders and field operation supervisors.
The jobs are temporary; some are full-time, some are part-time.
A second wave of hiring will lead up to Census Day on April 1, 2010.
The census, mandated by the U.S. Constitution every 10 years, is used to determine congressional representation, legislative boundaries, and the allocation of $300 billion in federal funds each year to communities across America.
When information is used for years to shape public policy, it must be accurate, said Dennis C. Delay, an economist who is deputy director of the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies.
"There's a lot that depends on this stuff," Delay said.
Cynthia Copeland, executive director of the Strafford Regional Planning Commission in Dover, said it is important to help people understand the importance of the census.
The challenge is not just in getting a correct count, but in correctly counting people in the right place: Renters, homeowners, retirees, people away at school, military members, and people whose lives are in flux.
"It's a serious undertaking," Copeland said.
For 2010 field operations, the Census Bureau anticipates getting nearly 3.8 million applicants and hiring about 1.4 million people.
Census takers work approximately 20 to 40 hours a week. Most census jobs require the employee to conduct face-to-face interviews with respondents, which involves visiting people in a variety of locations, asking questions and recording responses. Personal information is kept confidential.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens, at least 18 and pass a basic aptitude test. Most jobs require a driver's license and use of a car.
"It's important that we have qualified people who know their communities to help develop our confidential address list" said Kathleen Ludgate, director of the Boston Regional Census Center, in a statement. The Boston region is New England, upstate New York and Puerto Rico. "These important jobs offer good pay, allow flexible hours and permit people to work in their communities, for their communities. Census jobs count in many ways."
The 2010 Census is to be the shortest questionnaire in history. It asks for name, gender, age, race, ethnicity, relationship, and whether one owns or rents their home. The set of 10 questions is designed to take an average of 10 minutes to complete.
The federal government has traditionally sent out a long form, a questionnaire gathering data on America's social, economic, housing demographic indicators. In addition to the short form, it now uses an on-going survey, called the American Community Survey, to sample populations to determine how people live and work.
The census is the almanac of American life. It provides estimates on scores of subjects, including people living below the poverty line, income levels, educational attainment, the elderly as caregivers, and how long it takes a person to commute to work.
In New Hampshire, the aging population is of growing interest. So, too, the state's changing diversity.
In Manchester, for example, an estimated 20,000 residents speak a language other than English at home. The Hispanic population in the state's largest city has grown by more than 3,000 since 2000, according to the census.
Bart Eaton, assistant manager of the Boston Regional Census Center, said they will be hiring bilingual census takers to help conduct surveys where and when necessary.
In an interview, Eaton said preparations for 2010 began years ago. That includes dress rehearsals. And it means helping census takers get around the communities they know best, from the new developments to the frost-heaved back roads of spring.
"Hopefully," Eaton said, "mud season is early this year."
The U.S. Census Bureau jobs line can be reached at 1-866-861-2010.
Email This Page!