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Census Bureau Hiring Thousands Of Workers; Jobs To Pay Nearly $30 An Hour In The Chicago Area

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Looking for work? How about a job that will pay close to $30 an hour? No experience needed.

The U.S. Census Bureau is hiring thousands of people in the Chicago area to make sure everyone is counted.

Morning Insider Lauren Victory takes us inside the job of a census taker.

More than 100,000 workers are still needed in our section of the country to collect data for the 2020 U.S. Census.

"We have to count over 54 million people over eight states, in 24 million households," said Marilyn Sanders, Chicago Regional Director for the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sanders is undaunted by that task. This will be her fifth go-around involved in the constitutionally mandated count.

"Only job I've ever had," she said.

Recruiting employees is one of her top priorities right now as head of the Chicago region's 32 offices. She's in charge of 387,000 Census workers stretching from Minnesota to Arkansas.

"We're at about 70 percent," she said.

The clock is ticking to fill positions. By mid-May, census takers will need to hit the streets.

"Starting out their day, they will be provided – on an iPad or an iPhone – a list of addresses that have not responded to the census," she said. "A census taker will be given an assignment based on their availability."

Hourly rates paid to census takers increased from the 2010 Census, because of unemployment.

"The pay rates within the city of Chicago is $29.50 an hour," Sanders said. "Having the pay rates that are competitive to other types of positions such as this is one of the opportunities we had to make certain we could have the number of people we needed."

Census takers also will be reimbursed for expenses such as mileage.

The Census Bureau also is trying to appeal to people's sense of civic duty, with a YouTube video touting the need to "make sure every voice is heard."

"Together, we can shape our future," the video's narrator states.

To be part of the $15 billion effort, applicants need to undergo a background check, get fingerprinted, and complete training.

To apply for a Census job, click here.

 

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