Amador County - The U.S. Census Bureau is gearing up for the 2010 Census by recruiting for thousands of temporary and part-time jobs throughout the foothills region. A United States constitutional mandate from 1790 requires a systematic population count every ten years. The information is used by the government to distribute tax dollars, and it determines how many seats are allocated per state in the U.S. House of Representatives. “Amador is one of 11 counties in this region that we are recruiting for,” said Judy Lopez, a regional technician with the Census Bureau. “We are currently conducting pre-employment exams and background checks,” she added. Census jobs last anywhere from 5 to 10 weeks and start at 15 dollars an hour. An exam for a non-supervisor position, which includes enumerators and field crew leaders, takes approximately 30 minutes. Supervisor exams take at least an hour and require some previous supervisor experience. Although the meat of the work will be conducted from February 2009 through May 2010, some job requirements could last up to two years. Every household in the area will receive census forms to fill out for the final tally, which is set for April 1st, 2010. “We will need many workers and we encourage people to take the exam,” said Lopez. She said that so far Amador County has shown a strong turnout. A dry-run of the census taking process was recently conducted in San Joaquin County with good results. Most census jobs require U.S. citizenship, a driver's license and use of a vehicle. Each applicant will undergo a background check before being hired. Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties' residents can call 235-3480 to schedule the test. Merced and Mariposa County residents can call 818-717-6700 for recruiting. Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).