As the decennial count gets underway Tuesday in remote parts of Alaska, Census Bureau staffers in the Twin Cities are searching for thousands of part-time workers to knock on doors this spring.
Statewide, the Census Bureau is 60 percent of the way toward its goal of nearly 39,000 job applicants. Roughly 8,000 more temporary workers will be hired to help count everyone living in the state.
Recruiting that workforce is “the most urgent issue right now,” according to Jolie Wood, who is leading Ramsey County’s efforts to raise awareness and promote participation in the 2020 census.
Ramsey County as of Thursday was at 69 percent of its application target, behind Hennepin County but ahead of Anoka, Dakota and Washington counties. Some of the state’s greatest needs are around St. Cloud and Duluth.
In order to compete for workers in a time of low unemployment, hourly pay rates for census enumerator jobs have increased to $27.50 in Hennepin County and $22 across the other six metro counties.
“I think it is enough,” said Birhane Ambaw, 46, who left Ethiopia for the U.S. three years ago and has been earning a “very small” wage overnight at a group home.
Ambaw got help applying for an enumerator job Friday at the International Institute of Minnesota, a workforce development center near the State Fairgrounds. She’s looking for daytime work to supplement her income.
The institute trains new Americans in housekeeping jobs that pay $12-$13 and nursing assistant jobs paying around $15, said Lynn Thompson, program manager for the hospitality career pathway.
Census enumerators get to work close to home, between five and 40 hours a week, during a time of day that’s convenient for their lives.
“This is very attractive to a lot of our clients and it’s very flexible,” Thompson said. “They can do this job while they’re doing their other jobs.”
LOCAL PEOPLE
The bureau and its partners in local government and nonprofits have spent a lot of time in immigrant communities explaining what the census is and why it’s important, as well as recruiting workers. They expect census takers who look like their neighbors and speak the same languages will make for a more accurate count.
“We’re using assets they have to help America,” said Chou Moua, partnership specialist with the Census Bureau.
Gaining trust is a major hurdle with certain refugees, he said.
“For some of them, the last census they were in marked them for genocide.”
Wood said a long list of ethnic community organizations are helping out. They’re especially needed in St. Paul, where many residents represent groups that historically have been undercounted, such as young people, renters, people of color and immigrants.
“We have high proportions of all these groups that historically are being missed,” she said.
CENSUS MOVES ONLINE
The 2020 Census will be the first that allows all residents to complete their information online, although mail and phone still are options.
The vast majority of Minnesotans will get their first invitations by mail in the middle of March.
Those who ignore it will get two reminders in the mail, then a paper questionnaire and then a final mailed reminder.
The Census Bureau figures nearly two-thirds of residents will have submitted their information by then, although Minnesota’s response rate routinely beats the national average. Those who don’t respond will be visited at their homes by census workers in spring.
If someone still refuses to participate or can’t be reached in person, census enumerators will ask a proxy, such as a neighbor or landlord, to help complete the survey; in a small number of cases, the bureau uses statistical techniques to fill in the gaps.
WHY IT MATTERS
Census data is used to distribute hundreds of billions in federal dollars each year for myriad health, education, housing and infrastructure programs.
It also determines how many electoral votes and representatives in the U.S. House each state will get for the next 10 years.
Minnesota is widely expected to lose one of its eight congressional districts after this year’s count. That’s because its estimated population growth of 6.8 percent since 2010 lags behind much of the country.
Projections place Minnesota’s eighth seat at 437th in line for 435 positions — missing the cut by between 6,740 and 21,000 people, according to the consulting firm Election Data Services.
State Demographer Susan Brower said she’s holding out hope for keeping that seat.
“These are numbers that could be made up by a good census count and/or errors in the current estimates and population projections,” she said.
Congress used to expand the House so that no state would ever lose a seat following a census, but that practice stopped at 435 about 100 years ago.
WHAT QUESTIONS DO THEY ASK?
For each member of your household, you’ll give their age, sex, race and ethnicity, how the residents are related to each other, and whether the home is owned or rented.
WHAT’S NEW ON THE 2020 FORM?
White and black people now can record their countries of origin. There’s also new “same-sex” language, which should correct an overcount in the number of same-sex marriages caused by straight people mismarking their sex.
DO I HAVE TO PARTICIPATE?
Yes, it’s the law. But it’s extremely unlikely you’ll be fined if you refuse.
HOW TO APPLY
To apply for a temporary position to assist with the 2020 Census count, fill out an online applicaton at 2020census.gov/en/jobs.