The U.S. Census Bureau is gearing up for the 2010 count of the nation’s population. Census Bureau regional manager Debra Stanley spoke at an event in Des Moines Wednesday to announce the opening of the bureau’s office in the capital city.
Stanley says they are committed to having the "most accurate and complete census" ever and says that can only be done with the help of the entire community. Stanley says they are now in the recruiting phase of the operation as they seek to hire thousands of people to handle the census.
She says the first phase is a 10-week operation, and there will be other smaller phases as they lead into the actual census in 2010. Right now they are seeking workers to take a "very easy" 30 minute test. Stanley says census workers need to be 18 and have some basic skills.
Stanley says you need to be able to read and comprehend and know some very basic math. "And the good thing about this position and this test is, a person can take it as many times as they need if they don’t pass it the first time," Stanley says. Stanley says they will need 5,000 people to work in all of Iowa’s 99 counties. She says the operation will begin in early spring, but there’s training that needs to be done and that training will begin in early February.
Stanley says the jobs will pay $10.50 up to $16.75 an hour. Stanley says you can find out more about the jobs at: www2010censusjobs.gov , or you can call 1-866-861-2010. The census is required every 10 years by the U.S. Constitution, and is used to determine the number of U.S. Representatives each state will have, and is also used in handing out federal funds to state and local governments.