Census begins hiring locally

January 15, 2010 12:35 am

Census materials are stored in a portion of the new Fredericksburg office. Some hiring is under way.

BY EMILY BATTLE

Want to help cut down on federal spending?

Then take the time to fill out and mail back your census questionnaire when it arrives in your mailbox in mid-March.

For every 1 percent of Americans who don't mail back the questionnaire, the federal government has to spend between $80 million and $90 million hiring people to track them down, according to Jeanie White Presto, assistant regional manager of the U.S. Census Bureau for the Charlotte region.

Presto and other officials yesterday celebrated the opening of the Fredericksburg local Census office, which will be the home base for Census employees covering a 13-county region that also includes the city of Fredericksburg.

The office actually opened in October, but is gearing up to operate at full force.

The office already employs about 36 people and leases about 10,000 square feet of space in Spotsylvania County's Jackson Square office park.

Office managers expect to have around 750 temporary jobs available as the Census count gets rolling. The office is expected to stay open through August of this year.

The duration of the jobs will vary, but most will last for a matter of weeks.

The hiring process has already begun, and anyone interested should call 866/861-2010 or visit 2010cen susjobs.gov.

Nationwide, the Census Bureau expects to fill 1.4 million temporary jobs.

In the 2000 census, 67 percent of Americans returned their questionnaires by mail. The rate was higher in Virginia, where 72 percent of residents returned the questionnaire.

Residents should look for questionnaires to show up in their mailboxes around March 15-17.

"This is going to be the shortest questionnaire we have ever used," Presto said. "It's 10 questions and it will take you 10 minutes to fill out."

Presto also emphasized that all information provided to the Census Bureau is confidential; the bureau publishes only the numbers, not specific information connected to individuals.

The Fredericksburg office covers the city of Fredericksburg, along with Caroline, Culpeper, Essex, King George, King & Queen, King William, Louisa, Madison, Orange, Richmond, Spotsylvania, Stafford and Westmoreland counties.

It is one of 12 Virginia Census offices.

Emily Battle: 540/374-5413
Email: ebattle@freelancestar.com