2020 Census Job Fair

COOPER: IT’S A BUSY TUESDAY DOWNTOWN AT THE ONONDAGA COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY—IT’S NATIONAL RECRUITMENT WEEK FOR THE 2020 CENSUS. IT’S GOAL?

LORD: “SPEARHEADING AN INITIATIVE NATIONALLY TO GET AS MANY PEOPLE AS WE POSSIBLY CAN. IN THE SYSTEM HAVING APPLIED FOR CENSUS JOBS.”

COOPER: THE 2020 CENSUS IS UNIQUE BECAUSE THE FIRST “DIGITAL-DRIVEN CENSUS.” MOST ANSWERS WILL BE DONE ONLINE OR WITH GEOSPATIAL TECH LIKE THIS. BUT THE GOVERNMENT STILL LOOKS FOR PEOPLE TO CANVASS, BECAUSE…

LORD: “IT’S STILL NO SUBSTITUTE FOR ACTUALLY GETTING HUMAN BEINGS KNOCKING ON DOORS IDENTIFYING WHERE PEOPLE ARE. BECAUSE IT’S ALSO NOT JUST HARD ADDRESSES. WE ALSO NEED TO COUNT HOMELESS PEOPLE. NOT ONLY PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING IN SHELTERS, BUT LIVING IN TENTED CABINS. THAT DON’T NECESSARILY HAVE AN ADDRESS BECAUSE WE WANT TO COUNT EVERY SINGLE PERSON LIVING IN THE UNITED STATES ON APRIL 1ST. THAT MIGHT BE UNDER A ROOF OR NOT.”

COOPER: THE CENSUS IS THE LARGEST MOBILIZATION OF PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES OUTSIDE OF WAR. WHICH MEANS DAYS LIKE TODAY AT THE ONONDAGA COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY ARE SO IMPORTANT.

LORD: “SO WE NEED PEOPLE TO DO THOSE JOBS. AND HITTING UP THE LIBRARIES, HITTING UP OTHER LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS WHERE WE CAN FIND AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE.”

REGISTRATION IS THIS WEEK, THE HIRING PROCESS BEGINS IN MID MARCH, AND PEOPLE WILL HIT THE GROUND RUNNING BY APRIL.

LORD: “IT’S IMPORTANT BECAUSE THERE’S SO MUCH MONEY RIDING ON THE LINE. IT COMES DOWN TO POWER AND MONEY IN OUR LOCAL COMMUNITIES.”

COOPER BOARDMAN, NCC NEWS

“We are spearheading an initiative nationally to get as many people as we possibly can,” U.S. Census Parternship Specialist Jerry Lord said.

It’s National Recruitment Week for the 2020 Census. Around the country, more than 2,000 events are planned in hopes of recruiting 2.7 million people across the country to assist with the census count.

“We’ll be hiring probably sometime in mid-March, and people will hit the ground running in April,” Lord said.

On Tuesday, representatives were at the Onondaga County Public Central Library. The library dedicated 12 computers for local citizens to go through the registration process.

The 2020 Census is the first of what Lord calls a “digital-driven census.” That means the majority of answers will be completed online. But some people cannot be counted on the internet or with geospatial technology.

“It’s still no substitute for actually getting human beings knocking on doors verifying where people are,” Lord said. “Because it’s not just also hard addresses. We also need to count homeless people. Not only people who are living in shelters, but people who are living in tented cabinets. ”

Another important conversation about the census is confidentiality, says Lord. The bureau understands people are nervous to share their information.

“I’m here to say as a representative from the census that participating is safe. It’s easy… there are federal laws that protect against the misuse of any personal identifiable information. We can’t share it with anyone, including the courts, including I.C.E.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the government is recruiting 2.7 million people across the nation to assist with the count—a count that can be taken over the phone, online or in the traditional mail-in way. Wages for representatives start at $17 per hour for a job Lord calls “important.”

“We want to count every single person living in the United States on April 1st.”