Census Bureau seeks to fill thousands of jobs in Philadelphia, millions nationwide

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- As the 2020 Census draws closer, there are tremendous opportunities for employment. The government is actively recruiting for all kinds of positions.

"I've been with the census for 22 years, this is my first decennial. It's the 10-year census that occurs every 10 years where we count the population of the United States," explained Tamika Mitchel, the assistant regional census manager.

Mitchel said doing this important work for our country makes her proud.

"I love working for the census," she said.

And it keeps her on her toes.

"I'm constantly moving, constantly changing," she said.

The 2020 census will be the 5th for deputy regional director Philip Lutz.

"Very exciting, very challenging, always something new, always on the cutting edge of new technology," he said. "We were one of the first agencies to start putting our information out on this new thing called the internet."

And right now the U.S. Census Bureau needs more employees. They've set up a website: www.2020census.gov/jobs.

"We need people who are interested in temporary part-time jobs. They pay fairly well in Philadelphia, field workers will start out at $21 an hour," said Lutz.

Find out more about applying for Census jobs here.

Most of the jobs have flexible hours and you can work from a few days to a few weeks or months.

"We're looking for people from every, every community, people who speak other languages are strongly encouraged to take our temporary jobs," he said.

The Census Bureau is looking for more than 2-million applicants nationwide, 16,000 in Philadelphia alone. Those jobs include recruiting assistants, office supervisors, clerk positions, census takers, field workers, and partnership specialists to engage with the community, especially in hard-to-count communities.

To become a census taker you must be at least 18 years old, have a valid social security number and email address, and be a U.S. citizen. For many census jobs, you'll also need a valid driver's license. And all candidates must pass an FBI background and fingerprint check.

Find out more about applying for Census jobs here.

While the census offers ample opportunity for employment it also opens up an opportunity for scammers so be careful when applying for a job or dealing with someone who claims to be a census worker.