TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Census Bureau needs 4,000 workers locally

Staff file photo (2000)

A Hillsborough County worker helps people fill out their Census form the last time the national survey was taken.

ADVERTISEMENT

By MICHAEL SASSO | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 12, 2009

TAMPA - If you're looking for a job and you like dropping in on people, you might be a good fit for one of at least 4,000 local jobs coming open for U.S. Census workers.

The U.S. Census Bureau is going on a hiring spree in advance of the 2010 Census. The agency has four offices in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties and expects to hire 1,000 to 1,200 people for each office.

Most of the jobs entail visiting homes throughout the Tampa Bay area and asking residents a series of questions about number of people in the household and demographic information. The bureau hopes most people will send in their census forms this spring, but it will need throngs of census takers to visit the homes of people who don't respond, said Pamela Page-Bellis, a Census Bureau spokeswoman.

Wages vary from office to office. At Hillsborough County's two offices, for example, census takers will earn $14.50 per hour, while they will earn $13.25 per hour at the two Pinellas County offices. The jobs are temporary and may last for several months, Page-Bellis said.

For more information, people can call 1-866-861-2010 or visit the Bureau's Web site, at www.2010Censusjobs.gov.

The 2010 Census will be the first one taken since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. That, along with everyday fears of home intruders, could make it harder to conduct the census, as many people these days don't open their doors to strangers. The bureau is hoping that by publicizing that census takers will be in the neighborhoods this spring, people will be less fearful, Page-Bellis said.

"There's a new feeling in the community," she said. "A lot of us have gotten a lot more afraid, a lot more cautious."

Reporter Michael Sasso can be reached at (813) 259-7865.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT