Census Bureau offering temporary employment

Representatives from the U.S. Census Bureau visited Tuesday’s Greer City Council meeting seeking assistance in sharing information about the census and temporary employment opportunities with the local office.

David Burns and Phyllis Henderson explain to Greer City Council the U.S. Census Bureau's need for employees to conduct a complete count in 2010.

David Burns, who manages the Greer office for the Census Bureau, and recruiting assistant Phyllis Henderson said the bureau is interviewing and testing workers for both office and field positions.  Census forms will be mailed in March with a requested return by early April. Field work will then commence and is expected to last into August.

“Right now we don’t know what our needs will be for people going door to door or working in the field, but we know we’re going to need a large number of people to accomplish what we’re going to accomplish,” Burns said. “Right here in Greer, we’re going to require the recruitment of at least 2,000 people to fill 200 to 400 jobs depending on the mail-back response. It’s critical that we have people from the community because we want people from Greer counting people from Greer.”

The bureau began testing in Greer in early November. Additional tests will be administered at 10 a.m. on Jan. 16 and at 6 p.m. on Jan 26 at the Jean Smith Library in Greer, as well as at 1 p.m. on Jan. 28 at the Greer National Guard Armory. More information, an application, and practice test questions are is available by visiting www.2010censusjobs.com or by calling toll-free 1-866-861-2010.

Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and complete the 30-minute test.  Bilingual applicants are also needed.