The U.S. Department of Commerce yesterday welcomed guests to the opening of the Long Beach Early Local Census Office (ELCO), one of 11 southern California offices that will conduct operations leading up to the 2010 Census. The office is expected to hire many local residents looking for work and offers several different positions with high hourly rates.
Bringing something new to the table, the 2010 Census will be sent to every residence with a short questionnaire that is expected to take about ten minutes to complete. During the last census in 2000, long and complicated forms were sent to one in six residences.
Congresswoman Laura Richardson spoke during the opening and encouraged those in her District to participate, and “not fear the census.” She noted that more than 570,000 residents were counted within her jurisdiction in 1990, and estimates that there may be more than 700,000 today. Richardson stressed the importance of participating for funding reasons, as census information is used by government agencies to determine decisions made about parks and other public services.
Director of the Los Angeles Census James T. Christy stressed three points about the 2010 Census: that it is simple (should take less than ten minutes), safe (information is protected with strict confidentiality laws) and important. Christy was also excited to mention the office’s intentions to hire locally.
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor