In preparation for the 2010 Census, the U.S. Census Bureau will be opening its first round of offices in North Carolina this fall, including one in Greenville.
The new offices will create about 3,400 temporary jobs to help with confirming addresses and other Census operations, according to a news release from the Charlotte Regional Census Center.
In addition to Greenville, the four other offices will be located in Asheville, Charlotte, Fayetteville and Greensboro.
“The Census is ultimately a local operation,” said William Hatcher, regional director of the Charlotte Regional Census Center. “We oversee and provide the materials, but it will be the people in Greenville who do their Census work.”
Although the exact location of the Greenville Census office is not yet known, Hatcher said most of the work will occur late this winter and early next spring.
He said a second wave of offices will open after the address canvassing is complete.
Steve Rutherford, a Census Bureau spokesman, said most offices will have a grand opening in October.
“(The grand openings) have been very successful,” Rutherford said. “People can apply then for the jobs.”
Required by the Constitution once every 10 years, the Census provides a count of the population and housing in the country. However, the Census count also influences the distribution of Congressional seats and the proportion of federal funding allocated to each community.
“Bottom line, the more people that are accounted for in each area affects the funding it gets from the government,” Rutherford said. “For roads, schools, et cetera.”
The most recent numbers, from 2006, list Greenville’s population at 72,052.
Of that estimate, whites constitute 60.5 percent; blacks comprise 33.4 percent and Asians account for 2.1 percent.
A 2007 estimate assesses Pitt County’s population at 152,068.
Those interested in working in North Carolina during the 2010 Census can contact the Charlotte Regional Census Center at (704) 315-6005.
