APPLY NOW: Government hiring census takers in Fresno and the Valley

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- It's getting closer and closer to Census Day and the federal government is hiring census takers.

"We're taking applications right now. The sooner you apply, the sooner you get into the pipeline to be processed to get selected and get trained," said the Fresno Census Bureau recruiting manager Ike Grewal.

Interested applicants can apply online and it takes about 30 minutes.

Pay is about $16.50 per hour for a census worker.

"Anybody over 18 that has a valid social security number and an email address is eligible to apply," Grewal said.

Most hiring will be done in the Spring.

Officials say the flexible hours allow people to work evenings and weekends.

Video provided by the government shows the work census workers will be doing as they check in with residents, who have not responded to the census.

Officials say workers will help gather important information.

"It's going to be used to determine your congressional delegation for our state. but at the same time, we're going to use the data to tap into more than 675 billion dollars annually of federal funds to be used for our schools, our roads, and our hospitals," Grewal said.

Throughout the nation, thousands of positions will be filled.

Census information is collected every 10 years.

People will start being reminded about the census in March. You can respond by phone, mail or online. Census Day is April 1.