A newly opened U.S. Census Bureau office in Santa Maria could create more than 200 local jobs and as many as 1,500 jobs in five counties, according to estimates from bureau officials.
At an opening ceremony on Jan. 21, potential employees, along with a handful of local and state representatives, met at the new office to learn about the upcoming 2010 U.S. Census and the employment opportunities it will provide. Compiled every 10 years, the census is a federally mandated survey of the national population.
Every decade, the bureau distributes a short questionnaire to households throughout the United States, asking for basic personal information. Data collected by the census is used, among other things, to allocate Congressional funds and distribute Congressional seats to states.
The Santa Maria office is one of 12 locations to be opened early by the Census Bureau’s Los Angeles region, which includes Southern California, Hawaii, and a collection of Pacific islands. The Santa Maria office will be the central location for census operations in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, San Benito, and Monterey counties until more offices open. Region recruiters expect to have a total of 29 offices opened by the end of this year, according to Census Bureau media specialist Sandra Alvarado.
Each of the offices will offer multiple job openings, including administrative, clerical, and enumerator positions. Enumerators are responsible for canvassing and surveying local neighborhoods, and answering the public’s questions about the census.
The Santa Maria office has both full- and part-time temporary jobs available, which pay between $11 and $15 an hour.
“The hours are flexible depending on what you can do, whether you’re in school or you have other commitments,” Alvarado said, adding that employees can also work from home if the position allows.
During the ceremony, Santa Maria Mayor Larry Lavagnino praised the economic benefits the new Census Bureau office would bring to the area.
“Thank you so much for helping our economy,” he said to a crowd of local residents and Census Bureau recruiters. “The census is really vitally important to counties.”
The mayor also discussed the importance of educating Santa Maria’s residents about the census and its confidentiality terms.
“We want to count everyone in Santa Maria regardless of his or her status in the United States,” Lavagnino said. “No one is going to be coming and knocking on your door saying, ‘You can’t be here. You have to go back to where you came from.’”
This article appears in Jan 29 – Feb 5, 2009.