End of Census Works Means Unemployment Again

For its decennial enumeration, the U.S. Census Bureau hired about 700,000 new workers over the past two years—most signing on for door-to-door work in the last six months. But by the end of the summer, most of them will be accounting for a rise in the unemployment rate. According to the Atlantic, the layoffs would raise the rate from 9.5% to 9.8%, meaning projected national job growth would be overshadowed by a loss of Census jobs through September.

In past years, the Census bureau has had a hard time keeping Census workers around when there are higher paying jobs available. But the hourly wages, up to $25/hr in some cities, paid to many workers is looking good compared to, well, nothing. Andrew Stettner, deputy director of the National Employment Law Project, told the Times, "If a worker was in the last tier of long-term unemployment, they might not be able to go back to unemployment. They may have been better off not taking this job."

But what many Census workers lost in employment, they gained in the satisfaction of a job well done—cold comfort compared to a steady paycheck. Bridgeport worker Sherri Wood said, “I learned so much, I really loved it. Things will work. I pray for that." Perhaps she could get rehired by the Brooklyn office redoing over 10,000 faked forms.