Arizonans in hard-to-count communities are asked to participate in the census, apply for census jobs and see how census forms are processed.

Arizona school districts and education advocates show their support for a complete count in the 2020 Census as the U.S. Census Bureau seeks applicants for part-time jobs.

“As all of you know, Arizona has seen significant growth over the last 10 years, and we’re bound for more growth,” said Debbie Johnson, Arizona State Complete Count Committee chair and Arizona Office of Tourism director. “The 2020 Census is our opportunity to ensure that Arizona resources are distributed in a fair way, so that we can preserve the outstanding quality of life we have in Arizona.”

The Complete Count Committee is reaching out to Arizonans in hard-to-count communities in collaboration with its many partners, Johnson said.

One of those partners, is the Arizona School Boards Association, whose Board of Directors passed a resolution on Sept. 3 informing member school districts and leaders about the importance of a complete count, providing member school districts technical assistance to promote the census in their communities and partnering with the U.S. Census Bureau and other organizations to focus on historically undercounted communities, including children, immigrants, Latinos and Native Americans.

AZEdNews video by Angelica Miranda: How Census Forms are Processed

To make sure everyone in the U.S. is counted, the U.S. Census Bureau is seeking 2.7 million applicants so they can “select, hire, train and put into the field approximately 500,000 temporary Census employees,” said Timothy Olson, associate director of field operations for the U.S. Census Bureau at a recruitment campaign kickoff event Oct. 22 in Phoenix.

“It’s a big job, it’s a huge job and it’s an important job,” Olson said. “It’s very important that people consider applying right now.”

So far 900,000 people have already applied for part-time, temporary census jobs at 2020census.gov, Olson said. It takes about 30 minutes to complete the online application, and hourly pay ranges from $13.50 an hour to $30 an hour, he said.