CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Before households across West Virginia receive their official forms from the U.S. Census Bureau, the agency is holding hiring events Thursday and Friday for temporary positions.
Bureau officials are looking for enumerators, recruiting assistants and census field supervisors to take part in this year’s count, which affects how much local and state governments receiving in federal funding as well as the number of lawmakers each state gets in the House of Representatives.
The series of hiring events begins Thursday in Charleston, which will be followed with job fairs Friday in Morgantown and Huntington.
“We genuinely need applicants in every county of the state,” said Jamie Middlebrook, a partnership specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau.
Interested people can apply at each event, which goes from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Middlebrook said she is expecting a “huge turnout” at each event.
“In West Virginia, we have many challenges that we, as the Census Bureau, are going to be tackling. Part of that is going to be our non-response follow-up,” she said. “For individuals that do not self-respond, which is online, by phone or by mail, then we go out and dow hat most people do when they think of the Census, which is come knocking.”
Census workers will begin going to homes starting in May.
Interested individuals must be at least 18 years old, a U.S. citizen, and have a valid Social Security number and email address. Pay differs on each position, ranging from $14 to $44 an hour.
Thursday’s event will take place at WorkForce West Virginia (1321 Plaza East).