FARMINGTON – With Census Day on April 1 drawing closer, the U.S. Census Bureau is still hiring for positions throughout the Four Corners, and it hopes to fill some of those jobs at a recruiting event Monday in Farmington.

The job fair is for part- and full-time positions and includes census takers, census field supervisors, recruiting assistants, clerks and office operations supervisor. Bilingual applicants are needed and highly encouraged to apply. The U.S. Census Bureau hopes to fill more positions in San Juan, San Miguel and Eddy counties.

Applicants must be at least 18 years old, have a valid Social Security number, be a U.S. citizen, pass a background check and be available to work flexible hours. Many of the jobs also require a valid driver’s license, a vehicle and access to a computer with internet and an email account to complete training. Additional job details and requirements can be found at the U.S. Census Bureau’s website.

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., partnered with the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions and the U.S. Census Bureau to organize the job fair and recruit additional workers to ensure an accurate count.

The New Mexico delegation and state government have taken a strong interest in a complete count of the state, which is considered one of the hardest to count. In May 2019, Sens. Heinrich and Tom Udall invited the U.S. Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham to the state to study some of the challenges New Mexico faces in ensuring an accurate census. About 43% of households live in hard-to-count neighborhoods and 26.3% of households had no or limited access to internet from 2013 to 2017, raising additional concerns with the U.S. Census Bureau pushing for online responses.

The recruitment event in Farmington comes as state and county officials throughout the region are working to ensure an accurate count for their area. Both the La Plata County Complete Count Committee and San Juan County, N.M., Complete Count Committee are educating their communities and promoting the importance of the census, especially among traditionally hard-to-count groups, such as college students and immigrants. The U.S. Census Bureau is also hiring for hundreds of part-time job openings for census workers in Southwest Colorado.

The hiring fair will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Monday at the state’s Department of Workforce Solutions office in Farmington at 600 W. Arrington St. Applicants can also apply at www.census.gov/jobs.

lweber@durangoherald.com