POMEROY — In some parts of the country, the U.S. Census Bureau has considerably more competition among applicants for temporary jobs than in past years, but locally, there has not been much interest in the work so far.

The government has experienced an unusual demand for these jobs, surely an indication of the difficult job market and the tough national economy. Meigs County has had a lower response for census workers than other counties in the area.

The Census Bureau will administer another test for census takers at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Rio Grande Meigs Center. Tests are scheduled the rest of the month at a number of locations, including the Pomeroy Library on Thursday, Racine Library on Friday, and the Bradbury Learning Center, Carleton School, Rutland Civic Center and Department of Job and Family Services later in the month.

There are five different job classifications for census work: census takers, crew leaders, crew leader assistants, recruiting assistants, and census clerks. Most of the jobs will last several weeks. Chris Shank, Director of the DJFS, said Friday the testing now underway is for the census taker position. Census takers locate households, conduct interviews with respondents, explain the purpose of the census and record and return data.

The chief recruiter for the U.S. Census Bureau told U.S. News and World Report the overall skills level of applicants for census jobs this year is considerably higher than it was in 2000. Wendy Button said the bureau canceled a planned national advertising campaign that would have promoted the jobs, because the demand for positions appeared so strong in the earliest recruiting stages.

There are a number of benefits to the census jobs. The rate of pay is $12.50 per hour, and hours are flexible. Much of the work is performed on weekends and in the evening, when most people are at home and available. The jobs are expected to last about three months, and Shank said there are opportunities for promotion and additional hours.

Most applicants require a valid driver’s license and must use their own vehicles, but Shank noted that since workers are generally assigned to their own communities, they could perform the job on foot.

(Interested applicants for U.S. Census jobs should begin the process by calling (866) 861-2010 or visiting 2010censusjobs.gov, in order to access information about specific testing information.)