The Census Bureau is looking to double its pool of applicants for the 3,300 temporary jobs it hopes to fill for the 2010 population count.

So far, 4,500 applicants have been screened, but an equal number is needed to make sure enough enumerators are available to knock on doors at homes with hard-to-find addresses or where residents failed to return the census questionnaire, according to Marilyn Yoza, Hawai'i census office manager. She said many people who already applied may have found other employment, have new obligations or changed their mind and are no longer available.

Although the federal agency has suspended recruitment and testing activities for now, it will launch a mass hiring effort in January, she said. The Honolulu office will need 1,500 workers for the decennial census, and the Wai'anae office opening in November will hire 1,800 to cover that region and the Neighbor Islands.

"You're always worried about finding enough workers, but one of the things we really want is to find people who can work in their own neighborhoods. People are more willing to open the door if it's your neighbor knocking," she said.

The Census Bureau is especially interested in enlisting bilingual enumerators who can speak Asian and Micronesian languages and Spanish, Yoza said. Also on the most-wanted list are Neighbor Island workers, particularly in hard-to-survey areas on Moloka'i and the Big Island. In the past, the agency had to fly in workers to cover some of the Neighbor Islands.

The bureau is developing partnerships with ethnic and community groups to encourage members to work as enumerators. Yoza said her agency is willing to conduct practice tests and offer other assistance to help members qualify for the temporary census jobs.

STAFF FEWER THAN 50

The 1,000 Hawai'i residents hired by the agency this past spring to canvass neighborhoods using hand-held GPS computers to verify addresses finished their job, identifying 545,000 addresses. Those workers have been released from their temporary positions, and the bureau will hire 200 people this month to continue the verification process, Yoza said. In the meantime, the Census Bureau in Hawai'i is operating with a staff of fewer than 50.

Those to be hired next year will be able to work a flexible, part-time schedule over a period of five to 10 weeks, with paid training. Positions include office clerks, office and field operations supervisors, crew leaders and enumerators, with pay ranging from $12.75 to $20 an hour, depending on the job. Enumerators will earn up to $17 an hour.

Yoza said a wide range of folks have been applying, including retirees and the recently unemployed.

To increase awareness of 2010 Census and job opportunities, Census Bureau representatives will participate in Labor Day weekend events and future community activities, she said.

The agency already is working with the state government, which has formed a Complete Count Committee to make sure state employees are aware of the 2010 Census and can help spread the word about the importance of participating in the count. The volunteer committees are being established around the country.

Data from the census are used to determine congressional districts and government funding, and for infrastructure planning and other purposes. During fiscal year 2007, Hawai'i received $1.65 billion in federal assistance allocated on the basis of the decennial census, according to The Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization. The allocations funded medical assistance, highway construction, Head Start, Section 8 housing and other programs.

VALUE OF COUNT

On a per capita basis, Hawai'i's $1,283 in census-based funding was above the national average and 22nd highest in the country.

"The message needs to get out more," said Complete Count Committee chairwoman Pearl Imada Iboshi, state economist with the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. "Even within our own group people don't know what the benefits of filling out the census are."

Hawai'i had the nation's third-lowest questionnaire return rate in the 2000 Census, when just six of every 10 surveys were returned.

"If we're undercounted we would lose so much per year. It's a big deal when you think about it," Iboshi said.

The 2010 Census questionnaire will begin arriving at Hawai'i homes in mid-March. It is designed to be one of the shortest since the first census in 1790, asking just 10 questions and taking about 10 minutes to complete.

The decennial census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution and participation is required by law. Strict laws protect the confidentiality of respondents and the information they provide.