As the U.S. Census Bureau prepares for this year’s count, Murphy and Andrews have only half the number of census workers needed.
Graham County has even fewer.
Though temporary, these jobs pay well, at $17 per hour and 58 cents per mile. Applicants must be at least 18 years old, have a valid Social Security number, be a U.S. citizen and have a valid e-mail address. If male, applicants must be registered with Selective Service or have a qualifying exemption.
If offered a job, applicants must pass a criminal background check and be available to work flexible hours, including days, evenings and weekends.
Most census work also requires access to a vehicle, a valid driver’s license and access to a computer with internet, but no physical exam or drug test is required.
The pay rate for Graham County has risen by $3.50 an hour, as the Census Bureau seeks to drum up local recruitment. Census employees work in their own communities and are paid weekly. Census employees are also paid for all training, though at a slightly lower rate than for regular hours.
Andrews resident Cynthia Neal worked for the census in both 2000 and 2010, in suburban and small-town areas in Virginia.
“It required a lot of one-on-one interface with people who had not filled out their census forms,” said Neal. “This was a good part-time job with a good pay rate and mileage rate.”
Art Miller of Stecoah served as an assistant supervisor in Graham County for the 2010 census.
“There was a meeting every morning and you were handed a list of 3-4 addresses,” Miller said. He describes finding the residences as a sometimes-impossible task in rural areas, but, overall, the job was “easy pay.”
The congressionally-mandated census is essential to a functioning democracy, so working for the census is not just a well-paying job with flexible hours; it is a way to serve your country.
Census workers collect information that is crucial to calculating a state’s representation in Congress and this information also determines how the government spends funds on local infrastructure, schools, and other necessities.
For details, visit 2020cenus.gov/jobs or call 1-855-JOB-2020.