The Census Bureau Wants
You --
To Hire You, That
Is!
by George Selby
A nationwide recruiting
campaign is underway to find workers to fill thousands
of short-term employment slots during Census 2000. To adequately
staff the temporary local census offices in every state, a pool
of some 3 million applicants will be needed. To date, 1 million
applications have been received.
"Census 2000 will
be the largest peacetime mobilization in our nation’s history,"
said Commerce Secretary Daley, "and hiring and retaining
well-qualified workers will be critical towards achieving a fair
and accurate account."
Census
Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt has urged everyone interested
in a census job to call the agency’s toll-free number, 1-888-325-7733.
Additional information about Census 2000 jobs, including the
addresses of local census offices may be found on the Census
Bureau website.
Census 2000 jobs are
ideal for retirees, students and others seeking part-time work.
And, for the first time, most federal employees will be allowed
to work on the census outside of their normal work hours. Pay
rates range from $8.25 to $18.50 per hour.
People hired will work
primarily out of the 520 local census offices across the country.
Generally, each of the local census offices will require about
1,000 workers, most of them during a period of four to six weeks.
The largest number will be needed beginning in mid-April when
census workers visit households that do not return their Census
2000 forms by mail.
During the course of
census operations, there will be more than 860,000 employment
slots to be filled! Some workers will be hired for one slot and
then rehired later to fill another slot.
According to Dr. Prewitt,
"Our goal is to have a pool of local people who are familiar
with their communities and committed to a successful count in
their own neighborhoods.
The census has a major
impact on communities nationwide in terms of apportioning seats
in the U.S. House of Representatives, state legislative redistricting
and to help determine the share of federal program funds made
available to state, local and tribal governments over the next
decade. Data gathered will affect decisions on many matters
of local importance, including education, health care, employment,
housing, transportation and the environment. Hence the census
slogan: "It’s Your Future...Don’t Leave It Blank."
About the Author
George Selby, a member,
Federal Communicators Network, is Supervisory Marketing Specialist
in the Marketing Services Office, U.S. Census Bureau, in Suitland,
MD. You may reach him at (301) - 457-3110 or george.selby@ccmail.census.gov.