Census workers wanted for Canton-Akron area

CANTON Consider it a help wanted ad that spans the country and seeks hundreds of thousands of temporary workers.

The employer: the U.S. Census Bureau.

The job: Census taker.

The wage: $16.50 an hour in Stark County, plus 58 cents a mile when traveling is required for field work.

Hourly wages in surrounding counties vary:

Summit: $17.50 to $19.50

Wayne: $18

Carroll and Tuscarawas: $15.50

Columbiana and Portage: $16

'The ones who make it work'

And there's clearly a demand. The government estimates it will take around half a billion temporary employees to complete the 2020 Census population count.

Mark D. Brown, of North Canton, a quality control census supervisor for Stark County, wants to spread the word that temporary employees are needed to work from May through July.

"They are the ones who make it work," he said of the census.

Brown estimated thousands of temporary positions need to be filled for the Canton-Akron area.

"They're very, very in need of workers in Stark County," he said.

Hiring started in January and continues through April. Paid training is included.

Job applications can be filled out online at:

https://2020census.gov/en/jobs.html

For groups of 50 people or more who would like Brown to give a presentation and answer questions about the temporary census jobs, including churches, he can be reached at: [email protected]

Once in a decade

The hiring process includes a phone interview and background check.

Most of the available positions are census takers who collect responses from households that have not yet responded to the Census questionnaire -- mailed out in March -- either by phone, mail or online.

April 1 is Census Day -- by this date, every home will receive an invitation to participate in the 2020 Census.

When responding, the person informs the Census Bureau where he or she (and others in a household) live as of April 1, 2020.

Responses are required by law for anyone living in the country.

Census takers who visit homes will have a valid ID badge with their photograph, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark and an expiration date. Census workers also may carry Census Bureau bags and other equipment with the Census logo, the 2020 Census website said.

Other positions include Census field supervisors, recruiting assistants, clerks and office operations supervisors.

Each region has a field office. Stark County's is in Mansfield. Summit County's is in Akron.

Counting every person

Although the once-in-a-decade Census is a massive undertaking, it's goal is narrow: To make certain every person living in the United States is counted.

Also included are members of the military, college students who live on campus and those in jail, prison or living in a nursing home or senior center, according to the 2020 Census website.

The count also includes people without a permanent place to live, including the homeless and those living in shelters or at outdoor locations such as tent encampments.

Answers are kept confidential, and Census takers are legally bound to protect the information.

Billions of dollars

Census questions pertain to the number of people who live at a residence and their age, sex and race.

The Constitution requires the count be done every 10 years.

Overall, Census results are used to distribute more than $675 billion in federal funds to communities for schools, roads and other public services.

It is also used to direct federal dollars to more than 100 government programs, including Section 8 housing assistance, child abuse and neglect state grants, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), unemployment insurance, school lunch programs, Medicaid, highway planning and construction, state wildlife grants, small business development centers and assistance to firefighter grants, according to the Census Bureau.

Census results determine the number of seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives and are used to draw congressional and state legislative districts.

Flexible hours

Schedules for the temporary jobs are flexible, according to the Census website. Many of the positions require availability to work in the evenings and on weekends.

Census takers can expect to fill the positions for about eight weeks, said Brown, the local census supervisor.

Weekly hours will range from less than 10 up to 40 and possibly more, he said, depending on an individual's availability.

However, employment may end at any time or work hours may be reduced due to a lack of available work, the Census website said.

"The big thing is the more (people) we have to help us with this the better off we are," Brown said. "We can probably get a better count."

Reach Ed at 330-580-8315 and [email protected]

On Twitter @ebalintREP

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