Census Bureau hiring temporary workers for 2010: Thousands already in the pool for the jobs

The census is coming and, with it, temporary jobs.

The government is ready to shell out $13 an hour for qualified counters, who will hand-deliver census questionnaires to homeless people and to residents who list a rural route or post office box as their address.

Workers also will set up shop in Walgreens stores in the spring to answer questions for people who need help filling out the forms.

Bilingual workers also are needed.

All told, the local census office in Rockford, which covers 10 counties in northwestern Illinois, expects to hire as many as 1,800 temporary workers, office manager Dan Miller said.

The agency is rolling through the region now – application centers are being set up and test dates are being scheduled – and will continue to hire through March, he said.

To qualify for the job, applicants must be U.S. citizens and must complete a 28-question skills test.

“It’s nothing really complex, but it does weed out, if you know what I mean,” Miller said. “Can you read a map? Can you add and subtract, read and follow basic directions, and [complete] some clerical skills?”

Those who score highest on the test will be hired based on need.

Applicants who scored well on the test last spring, when the U.S. Census Bureau began hiring, will be competing again for jobs.

There are about 2,300 qualified applicants in the hiring pool now, Miller said.

In addition to scores, the bureau will consider proximity, he said. People should apply at the testing center that is closest to their home.

Four test centers will be set up in the area in December: in Amboy, Erie, Forreston, and Prophetstown, clerk Helen LaMarca said.

Centers won’t be set up in the larger cities, such as Sterling and Dixon, until after the first of the year, she said. 

The agency is concentrating its recruiting efforts on smaller towns first, Miller said, because it knows there already is enough interest in the larger cities.

“We’ll come back and do it in [more populous areas] later on,” he said. “You guys came out in full force in the spring; you’re still in our pool.”