Census Bureau hiring 2,000 + in R.I.

WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) - The U.S Census Bureau is hiring 2,300 Rhode Islanders in April to collect information for the 2010 census.

Judith Babcock, the manager of the census office in Warwick tells Eyewitness News that the census jobs start at $15 an hour. The jobs will be temporary, and will last about eight weeks.

Rhode Island's unemployment rate stands at 12.7%. The hiring by the U.S Census Bureau may be the biggest opportunity for people living in the ocean state to find work this year. The government will be hiring field operations supervisors, clerks and assistants to run census help centers

Those who operate the local census offices worry they will not find enough qualified applicants to fill the jobs. An accurate count could mean more federal dollars for Rhode Island.

For more information:

• Call a local census office between 8:30am - 5pm
• Providence County census office: (401) 228-0900
• Warwick census office at (401) 773-3010