Census Bureau recruiting workers

By: 
STAFF REPORT

Across the country an estimated 500,000 temporary workers will be hired by the U.S. Census Bureau as the agency gears up for the 2020 Census. Hundreds of workers will be hired for local count.
The village of Coal City is working with Carbon Hill and Diamond, and a host of local agencies and organizations, to get the word out about the upcoming Census and the need for local workers to complete tasks like in-field address canvassing, to clerks and operations, and field supervisors.
The positions pay $15.50 to $19.50 per hour on a weekly basis, plus a federal mileage allowance of 58 cents per mile.
The agency provides paid training and flexible hours. The average Census worker will put in a minimum of 24 hours per week.
In Grundy County alone the agency plans to hire around 400 temporary workers.
Every task undertaken by the agency is expected to last up to eight weeks, providing workers short or long term employment options.
One of the first tasks to be completed is address canvassing and staffers will begin heading out in the field.
The process requires field staff to visit specific geographic areas to identify every place where people live or could live. Staffers compare what they see in the field to an existing census address list to verify, correct or add an address.
In-field address canvassing is expected to get underway in late summer and wrap up in October.
Individuals will continue to be hired throughout the Census process to ensure all necessary positions are filled.
Applicants can qualify for both field and office positions, however office positions are more limited and are located in area census offices.
The agency is currently accepting applications for recruiting assistants, office operations supervisors, clerks, census field supervisors, and census takers.
Census takers work in the field. Some positions require employees to work during the day and other positions require interviewing the public, so these individuals must be available to work when people are usually at home including evenings and weekends.
Field supervisors conduct field work to support and conduct on-the-job training for census takers and/or to follow up on situations where census takers have confronted issues.
Clerks perform various administrative duties and clerical tasks.
Office operations supervisors assist in the management of office functions on a day-to-day basis.
And, recruiting assistants travel throughout geographic areas to meet with community organizations and attend promotional events to get the word out about he census and conduct recruiting activities.
Applicants are placed in a pool for positions they qualify for and are contacted as work becomes available in their area.
On-line applications can be completed at 2020census.gov/jobs or by calling 855-JOB-2020.