U.S. Census is Hiring Locally: Earn Extra Money While Helping Our County Get a Fair and Honest Count
The census comes around every 10 years and 2020 is our next opportunity to count every resident in Pinellas County. Mandated by the U.S. Constitution, the census count provides data that will determine the number of seats Florida has in Congress and will be used to distribute federal funds both to the state and to our local communities.
Without an accurate count, Florida stands to lose billions of dollars and could be underrepresented in Washington, D.C. for the next decade. Several changes to the 2020 census could put some communities deemed “hard-to-count” at risk for underrepresentation. Controversy over a question of citizenship remains unresolved (the census mandates counting all residents, not just citizens). Cuts to the census budget and a shift to an electronic count could also contribute to undercounting of some populations, including children under age five, households with poor Internet access, recent immigrants and communities of color.
Pinellas County residents can help ensure an accurate count in their communities by fully participating in the census. Another avenue is to work for the U.S. Census Bureau, which is recruiting thousands of people across the country to assist with the 2020 census. They are hiring for a variety of temporary jobs, including census takers, recruiting assistants, office staff and supervisory staff.
To qualify for U.S. Census jobs, individuals must be at least 18 years of age, have a valid Social Security number, and be a U.S. citizen.
Details can be found at https://census.gov/jobs.
About the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg
The Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg is a private foundation formed in 2013 following the sale of the nonprofit Bayfront Health St. Petersburg. It is the steward of community assets dedicated to supporting health equity in Pinellas County. The Foundation inspires and empowers people, ideas, information exchange, organizations and relationships to end differences in health due to social or structural disadvantages and improve population health.