Census

The huge number of jobs available for the census is seemingly good news for unemployed workers, for though the work is temporary, the pay is decent (In Minneapolis, the rate starts at $16.50/hour.) As community groups organize like mad to make sure that every single person gets counted, the U.S. Census Bureau slowly but surely has been hiring staff members, both to manage the enormous administrative duties that the census entails, and also to do the difficult task of going door to door, making sure that each person in this country is counted. But a number of factors make hiring people from underrepresented communities difficult. 

In Minneapolis and St. Paul, under-counting American Indians on the U.S. Census has led to reduction in federal funding for urban American Indian communities since 2000. Census officials recently visited Minneapolis to encourage American Indians, "Be Counted!" on the 2010 census. 

Local officials and others are going all out to ensure that Blacks, other people of color and immigrants in Minnesota are fully counted in the 2010 U.S. Census. "We're trying," said U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves in an interview prior to his appearance at a February 18 rally at the Midtown Global Market in South Minneapolis. 

Sometime in mid-March, your letter carrier will deliver your 2010 U.S. Census form in the mail: 10 questions. Take a few minutes to fill out the form and return it in the mail by April 1.