Census takers test in Enterprise Nov.12

An employment test for anyone interested in working as a census taker will be given Nov. 12 at 10 a.m. at the Economic Development Office at the Yancey Parker Industrial Park in Enterprise.
All prospective workers should report to the building at 102 Commerce Street in the industrial park complex with two forms of valid identification, Census recruiter John Gibson said Monday.
National Census Day is less than six months away. “We are looking to employ people for 40 hours a week for about eight weeks,” Gibson said.
Most of the jobs will require a valid driver’s license and use of a vehicle. Applicants may qualify if they are a United States citizen, at least 18 years old, have a valid Social Security number, can pass a background check and take a written test of basic skills.
The written test will be given Nov. 12; a practice test is available at http://www.2010censusjobs.gov. The 30-minute basic skills test consists of 28 multiple-choice questions “measuring knowledge, skills and abilities required to perform a variety of census jobs,” Gibson said. Parts of the test include clerical, reading, number and organizational skills, he added.
To receive military veterans’ preference, applicants must bring to the test site a copy of Form DD-214 and the SF-15, if applicable, describing qualifying military service said Gibson.
The census is an official count of everyone living in the United States, citizens and non-citizens, and it is mandated by the U.S. Constitution to be conducted every 10 years. This year’s census questionnaire is one of the shortest in history and contains only 10 questions, Mayor Kenneth Boswell said earlier. “The questionnaires will be mailed or delivered to households in March and must be returned in the postage-paid envelope provided by April 1.”
With 64 percent participation in the 2000 census, Enterprise had one of the highest response rates in the state, Boswell said. “Our goal this year is to have a 100 percent return rate.”
“Its vital that people have all the facts so they understand how important the census is,” Boswell said. The federal government can allocate more than $300 billion to states and communities based, in part, on census data, he added. “The higher our response rate, the better our chances are for receiving that grant funding.”
“Census data also establishes legislative districts and the number of seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives,” Boswell said. Additionally, information obtained from the census is used to determine community needs such as new hospitals, roads and schools.
Boswell said the city’s project assistant, Brooke Denney, can be contacted at 348-2604 or by e-mail at for more detailed information or to answer any questions about the census. “I would like to stress that the higher the response rate we have, the better it is for the city as a whole,” he said “We want to increase participation in 2010 so that we have the most accurate data.”