COLUMBUS—The US Census Bureau is currently hiring staff to work in offices in Columbus, Newark and Springfield and recruiting for field positions in those areas, agency officials announced today. Details about the available positions are now posted on the Census website, www.2010censusjobs.gov Interested applicants should call the toll free number, 1-866-861-2010, to schedule a test, the first step in the application process for a job with the US Census Bureau.

Currently the Bureau is hiring clerks, administrative assistants, office operations supervisors and recruiting assistants.

"We are recruiting for all of our positions, which include enumerators, crew leaders, crew leader assistants and field operations supervisors," said Bill Fuller, recruiter for the Detroit Regional Census Center. "Each office will hire between 800 and 1,000 employees between now and June 2010 at hourly pay rates from $8.25 to $19.50. We are looking to recruit 119,039 Ohioans for testing.

Census personnel will choose staff from that pool of successful test-takers for the 18 local census offices in Ohio." The Detroit Regional Census Center, which supervises hiring for Ohio, West Virginia and Michigan, has a goal of recruiting approximately 247,000 in the three-state area to secure an applicant pool of 177,840 from which to hire.

The 2010 Census is the largest peacetime operation conducted by the federal government and is mandated by the US Constitution for the reapportionment of congressional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The census is also used to help determine how more than $400 billion in federal funding is distributed annually throughout the country for schools, healthcare facilities, safety forces, roads and highways, and other essential services.