Jobs as temporary, part-time positions as census takers are available in Santa Barbara County as local organizers ramp up for in-person visits to households that have not yet responded to the U.S. Census.
These Non-Response Follow Up (NRFU) visits were originally suppose to take place in March 2020 but were postponed due to restrictions put in place because of COVID-19. Now, door-to-door visits by census takers in Santa Barbara County are expected to begin in August.
"It is not too late to apply for high-paying, temporary jobs to support the Santa Barbara County 2020 Census," said Joni Maiden, co-chair of the Santa Barbara County Census 2020 Complete Count Committee. "Our county's self-response rate is 66.1% as of July 1, but our goal is to count every resident in our community. Every person left uncounted equates to a loss of $2,000 per person, per year for the next ten years. Anyone looking to earn extra income and help their community should take the next step and apply."
All census takers will be paid $21 per hour and trained on physical distancing protocols and issued with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) with local guidelines for PPE use.
Applicants must be at least 18 years old, be available to work flexible hours (including days, evenings, and weekends), and have a valid driver's license and access to a vehicle. They must be a U.S. citizen, have a valid Social Security number, undergo fingerprinting, and pass a criminal background check and a review of criminal records.
Bilingual applicants are especially encouraged to apply. For more information and to apply, visit this website.
Residents are able to reply to the census online, in addition to by phone and mail. Invitations to respond were first mailed nationwide in early March 2020, and followed up with reminder postcards. Paper census forms were mailed to non-responding households in mid-April. The deadline to respond has been extended to October 31, 2020.
The census self-response online tracker is at thiswebsite. Below are response rates in Santa Barbara County as of July 1, 2020:
Santa Barbara County 66.1%
· Buellton 68.4%*
· Carpinteria 65.7%
· Goleta 71.3%
· Guadalupe 60.3%
· Lompoc 66.4%
· Santa Barbara 67.5%
· Santa Maria 61.3%
· Solvang 70.3%*
* = exceeded US Census Response 2010 total
