“Representation and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers … The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.”– Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution of the United StatesThe 2010 census is more than a year away, but census workers are already gearing up.”We’ve been hiring since Oct. 1,” said George Gutierrez, head of the Colorado Springs census office, which opened in January.”I have about 70 people working in the office right now and quite a few in the field. We’re hiring close to 1,000 people in 49 counties, and Colorado Springs has the bulk of the jobs,” Gutierrez said. The Denver census office handles Denver and Douglas counties, the area north of Denver County to Greeley and all of Wyoming, he said.According to the census employment toll-free number, the jobs are temporary, part-time positions in the worker’s local community and usually last several weeks.The recording stated: “Census takers are paid a good hourly wage, receive paid training and must provide their own transportation. No special experience is required to apply.”Applicants must pass a test consisting of 28 multiple-choice questions covering reading skills, basic math, following instructions and map reading. Four out of five people who take the test pass the first time. People who don’t pass can take the test again on another day, according to the recording.The Colorado Springs office is not testing new applicants for positions in El Paso County and 19 other counties at this time, Gutierrez said. Testing was halted until they can determine if the first round of testing drew enough qualified applicants to fill the available positions.”Our first project, address canvassing, starts this April and runs through June,” he said.”Our people will go out with hand-held computers, stand in front of a house that wasn’t there 10 years ago and enter that house into the computer. If a house is no longer there, we need to delete it from the computer. Our maps have to be accurate so that every single household gets a survey from us.”After the address canvassing is completed, they will identify places that house multiple people – apartment complexes, hospitals, institutions and shelters, Gutierrez said.Most people hired for the census are enumerators, also known as listers. They walk the neighborhoods, one block at a time, he said.”So, it’s a big, tedious job, but it’s very important that we get the correct count because each person we count can be worth up to $1,000 a year in federal funding that comes back into the community,” Gutierrez said.Most households will receive a 10-question survey in the mail in March 2010; however, as in previous years, a third of households will receive a longer questionnaire.People who don’t mail in their surveys by the end of March 2010 will be visited in person by an enumerator, even in rural areas.”Nationwide, for the 2010 census, for every 1 percent increase in the mail response, the federal government saves $75 million,” Gutierrez said.Testing for positions in El Paso County may restart in April, he said.The phone number for the Colorado Springs census office is 719-234-0380. The census employment toll-free number is 1-866-861-2010.
