According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Daviess County desperately needs Census workers for the upcoming 2020 Census count. Applications for positions are currently being accepted and the Census committee says they would like to see 500-600 Daviess County residents apply for part-time positions before May 1, 2020.
“Hiring has started and will pick up pace in January as we start the Group Quarters Enumeration project,” said Partnership Specialist Molly McCarroll.
One obstacle that has prevented people from accepting Census jobs they’ve applied for has been a reluctance to accept phone calls from unfamiliar numbers. McCarroll said it’s understandable that people reject these calls due to the ongoing debacle with robocalls.
“If you, or someone you know, applies for a Census job, I encourage you to be a little more forward-leaning in answering calls from unknown numbers,” McCarroll said. “Best case scenario, you get a job; worst case scenario — you listen to three seconds of a message in a foreign language and hang up.”
As explained by Keith Sanders, chairperson for the Daviess County Complete Count Committee, a variety of circumstances have prevented people from applying for part-time Census jobs.
“We have a very low unemployment rate, which makes it a bit more challenging to find people,” he said. “600,000 people are needed across the country for the Census. We’re trying to recruit and help them. By May 1, we need at least 200 people to serve as Census takers.”
What’s different about this year’s Census is the ability to register one’s information online, which Sanders hopes will help with getting a more complete Census count. However, those who don’t register either by phone or online will be approached by Census takers who go door-to-door to obtain the needed information from residents.
Census takers attempt to retrieve the needed information from unresponsive households three times before calling it. Sanders said there’s no social security number or annual income information needed from participants, but that some people still get nervous about the government questioning them.
“In 2000, Daviess County had 82 percent respond to the Census questionnaire. We did better than Evansville, Bowling Green, Louisville and Lexington,” he said. “However, we still had 10,000-20,000 people we needed answers from.”
This year, Sanders is hoping for a response rate of 85-90 percent, adding that his committee is working hard to market this year’s 2020 Census.
The Daviess County Complete Count Committee will hire around 200 Census takers who can choose their hours and work up to 30-35 hours a week. Census takers are paid $14 an hour, plus 58 cents per mile.
The Census is so important to Daviess County because it determines much of the annual federal government funding the County receives for the next 10 years.
“More than $675 billion in federal funding is distributed each year based, at least in part, on Census numbers,” McCarroll said. “When local residents aren’t counted, institutions like City and County governments, schools, hospitals, transportation systems and any organization that receives federal funding risks not getting the money needed to support important programs, like Medicaid, school lunches, or disability programs.”
Census data also helps local governments attract new businesses and investments to Daviess County, McCarroll added.
Click here to apply for a part-time Census taker position in Daviess County, or to find out more information about local Census jobs.
