2010 Census Job Fair

LIBERTY, March 4, 2010 - Need a job? The 2010 Census hiring campaign hits high gear with a job fair and job-skills testing for potential census employees on Thursday, March 11, at Liberty City Hall, Liberty, TX, 77575.

A census-related job fair will take place from 4 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. March 11; a written test to qualify applicants will begin at 7 p.m. Individuals are encouraged to sign up to take the qualifying test during the job fair.

Interested applicants should understand that bringing proper identification to the test site is important. Either bring a birth certificate or a U.S. passport, or two other forms: a social security card, along with a current drivers license, state identification card or student photo identification card. Tests cannot be accepted without proper identification.

The U.S. Census Bureau is pushing to hire approximately one thousand people in Liberty, San Jacinto and Montgomery Counties, and will emphasize hiring individuals to help collect census information in their own neighborhoods.

Census jobs are good for college students, retirees and stay-at-home parents. The work schedules are flexible and pay ranges from $8 to $24 an hour for job titles ranging from clerk to supervisor. The terms will last from April through July or longer. The lack of an adequate number of workers could mean an undercount that could cost the three-county area valuable federal funding for needed social services, roads, schools and hospitals.

To prepare for the test, applicants can take the practice test on the Census Web site: http://2010.census.gov/2010censusjobs/documents/Practice_Test.pdf.

“Everyone deserves to have a voice and be counted, and by working for the 2010 Census, you will be directly involved with ensuring that happens,” said U.S. Census Bureau Dallas Regional Director Gabriel Sanchez.

If you can’t come to the testing site, applicants are urged to call a toll free number, 1-866-861-2010, to schedule a time to take a qualifying aptitude test. For more information on hiring, visit the Census’ job site at http://2010.census.gov/2010censusjobs/.

For information on the 2010 Census in general, visit http://www.census.gov/2010census/.

Census workers began delivering questionnaires to rural areas the first week in March. Mailed forms should arrive in the third week of March. Residents are asked to fill out their forms and return them as soon as possible. Follow-up visits will begin in May.

The decennial Census determines congressional representation and the annual distribution of more than $400 billion in federal funds for local and regional services.

Most positions require U.S. citizenship, a driver’s license and the use of a vehicle, and each applicant will undergo a background check.

Hiring has already started and will extend through spring 2010 for temporary assignments, most lasting eight weeks to a few months. The Dallas Regional Census Center is expected to hire about 111,000 workers to complete its task in its region, which includes Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Texans electing to work for the 2010 Census won’t lose their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (previously known as the Food Stamp program), thanks to a recent federal interpretation of eligibility rules. The rules interpretation from the Food and Nutrition Service, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is good news for those seeking employment in tough economic times, and when the Census Bureau is still seeking qualified applicants to help complete the 2010 Census.

Workers could already hold onto their Medicaid and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) aid if they took temporary jobs with the Census. The interpretation allows the nearly 1.4 million adults receiving SNAP aid in Texas to continue receiving their nutrition benefits if they elect to work for the 2010 Census.