The federal government is gearing up for the 2020 census and is hiring workers locally.

Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau counts the number of people living in America. The information from the survey is used for a variety of things, including allocating seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and helps determine where government funds go to and where infrastructure like roads and bridges are built.

To do that survey, the U.S. Census Bureau hires a lot of people, which it is doing right now.
Raymond Caputo, a U.S. Census Bureau recruiter, said that they are putting a main office in South Point to start the work necessary to do the survey. The office will have clerks and supervisors and they will be hiring workers to hit the road and survey households to determine how many people live there.

“We are going to be hiring a lot of people and we need a lot of people to canvas this county to do the work,” Caputo said. He added the census work lasts for about 18 months.

He explained the work of the census is done in stages. The first stage is address verification, where someone drives by and makes sure the address on the house or mailbox is accurate. And if the verification phase goes fast in Lawrence County, the workers may be asked to work in another county where it isn’t proceeding as fast.

To qualify for that job, a person must be a U.S. citizen over the age of 18, have an e-mail address and have their own transportation.

“That means no Uber, no mom or dad driving you around, no spouse driving you around,” Caputo said. “It can be the family car, of course, but you have to drive around by yourself.”

That job pays $14 an hour and 58 cents a mile. The worker gets a W-2 since they will be a temporary, part-time federal employee.

“There will be times when they are not working, so they will have to be prepared for that,” Caputo said.

He said the hours are flexible. At the office in South Point, the clerk positions will be $12 an hour and it will be 40 hours a week.

Workers will be paid weekly and the training is paid.

Supervisors are already being trained.

“Things are moving right along,” Caputo said.

He said, as the census progresses, they would be hiring more people.

To apply, people are asked to go online to 2020census.gov/jobs.

“It takes about 15 minutes. You will need your Social Security number,” Caputo said. He added that men will need their Selective Service number, but the page has a link to a website that can help them find it. Applicants will get a notice as to whether they are eligible for a job
He added that veterans get preference when it comes to hiring.

“And disabled veterans go to the top of the list,” Caputo said. “They will get a phone call.”
Eligible applicants will also have to pass a federal fingerprint background check, which the U.S. Census Bureau pays for.

Caputo said they are looking for 30 hours or more at this time, so that box should be checked during the application process. Those applying for clerk positions need to mark 40 hours.

“We will be hiring all the way through February 2020,” Caputo said. “The census is a long process and we will be hiring more and more as time goes on.”