Census Jobs Still Available

The majority of South Carolinians mailed back their census forms. According to census officials, the palmetto state exceeds the national average, at 71-percent. But the numbers of census workers for a local office are not so high. In fact, jobs are still available. Staffers at the Lexington/West Columbia census office have been working overtime to reach citizens in the five-county area they are charged with covering: Aiken, Edgefield, Lexington, Newberry, and Saluda. Office manager Earl Sasser says his group is beating out other teams offices statewide. “It’s been a lot of hard work, people out there recruiting, phone calls and everything else,” said Sasser. To keep morale up in the office, some of those hard workers are self-described super-heroes, like Batman, Robin and Bat Girl. An old-fashioned sugar high, with Skittles and other sweets, keeps others focused on the 80-thousand households that need to be counted. This office is looking specifically for people who have already taken the census employment test, scored well but have not heard back with a job offer. More than 30 field operator positions are still open. One hundred quality assurance vacancies need to be filled within two weeks. “When you have good staff, they can move into positions that are coming open. That’s the sweet part about it,” said Sasser. The bitter part is the jobs are temporary. The West Columbia office and others around the state will be empty when the 2010 Census project wraps up this summer. If you have completed a census test, scored well but did not receive a call for a job offer, you can contact the office at 803-233-1550. We’re told census workers will be paid, at least, $12.75 per hour.