With 2020 coming up, the U.S. Census Bureau is recruiting across the country to ensure they have a full staff in time for the nationwide count.
Nationwide, the bureau is looking to hire 500,000 people. The Grand Junction office is in charge of hiring in the Roaring Fork Valley region.
The numbers gathered by the census are used for a number of important apportionment decisions.
“The results of the 2020 census will help determine Colorado’s representation in the U.S. House of Representatives,” said Laurie Cipriano, a spokesperson for the census. “As well as how certain funds are spent for schools, hospitals, roads and more.”
The bureau is hiring for both field and office positions and says there’s a particular need for census employees in Colorado.
“We need to fill these jobs to make sure we have the staff to ensure an accurate count,” Cipriano said. “Our goal is to count everyone once, only once, and in the right place.”
Census jobs in Eagle and Garfield counties pay $16 per hour, and jobs in Pitkin County pay $16.50. Both of those rates are higher than most counties in Colorado. In the majority of other counties in the state, the pay will be $14 per hour.
More information about census jobs and the count itself can be found on the Census Bureau's website.
