AUSTIN, Texas — The U.S. Census Bureau needs to hire about half a million people across the country to help with the 2020 Census.
The U.S. Constitution requires everyone living in the country to be counted every 10 years. The data is critical to America's democracy because it's used to determine how many representatives each state gets in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The U.S. Census Bureau created a video to explain how the data is used to calculate the number of representatives:
Steve Dillingham, Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, was in Austin Wednesday to recruit workers. He said the census isn't just about representation on Capitol Hill, but resources for your community.
"The federal funds that go out to the states and the local governments total more than $675 billion a year. And they distribute or allocate this money using census data," Dillingham said.
For the first time, people can fill out the census online. They will also be able to call in or mail in their answers, but Dillingham said the bureau will still need diligent workers to be census takers.
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"We know that most people in the country will reply, self-respond to our request for the census. But in the event that they don't [we need census takers]," Dillingham said. "We then have to hire people to go out into the neighborhoods, into the communities and to collect, knock on the doors and collect the information."
Dillingham said census taker positions are ideal for college students or retirees, but anyone is welcome to apply.
The part-time federal jobs will pay $17 to $23 per hour in the Austin area and workers are reimbursed for their travel. You can apply here.
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