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Census Bureau seeks recruits ahead of 2020 census

Sunday, October 13, 2019

As the 2020 Census approaches, the U.S. Census Bureau is seeking 3,000 applications from residents of Hays County to fulfill temporary positions.

The Bureau is recruiting census takers, or enumerators, who will follow-up with individuals who have not self responded to the census, said Douglas Loveday, Senior Media Specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau.

“The position is so unique,” Loveday said. “It’s temporary. We’ve got folks that are taking this job because you know, they want to go on a vacation, they want to go on a trip, maybe buy a car or pay off some debt. And it’s the perfect job to do that.”

Loveday noted that individuals are able to select the times they would like to work and are paid for expenses and mileage.

The positions would last through late July and according to the Census Bureau’s website, would pay $15 an hour in Hays County.

Individuals interested in applying are encouraged to do so immediately at census.gov/jobs .

Loveday said getting an accurate count on the Census, which is a count of the number of people living in the United States as well as their location, is important for several reasons, including funding and redistricting.

“There’s $675 billion plus in federal funds. Now that goes out to the states every year and that’s distributed to the states based on this census data, based on this population data,” Loveday said. “So why is it important? Well, if Texas comes up short, and we have an undercount and we’re not counting everybody, we’re not going to get the amount of federal funds needed to meet the needs that the state has.”

Federal funds are utilized for education, healthcare, infrastructure and roads, and can trickle down to a local level, according to Loveday. He said many local officials are particularly concerned with funding for school lunch programs.

“The school lunch programs are so important, and these federal funds will trickle all the way down,” he said. “If we’re undercounted we’re not going to get those funds, and a lot of school districts, you know, they’re strapped and they they will cut that program because they may not have the funds to pick up the slack they didn’t get from the federal funding.”

The 2020 Census will be the first time individuals can respond online. Loveday said there will be three options to take the Census: online, by phone or by paper.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how many folks self respond,” he said. “We’re hoping it really increases the number of people right out of the gate, that do their their Census, and the more that people self respond, the fewer Census folks that we then have to send out it.”

jburnham

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San Marcos Record

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