NewsWest 9
MIDLAND - They're in desperate need of workers and they only have a few weeks to find them. Officials at the U.S. Census office say they're having a hard time tracking down enough people to cover the West Texas area.
It's all because of our low unemployment numbers. Both Midland and Lubbock have some of the lowest un-employment numbers in the state and the census office is finding that most people just don't need the extra work. Right now, our West Texas census office has only recruited about 30 percent of the employees they'll need. Officials say, in our 25 West Texas counties, only two-thirds of all the households will actually send back those forms meaning they need workers to go door-to-door for the rest.
"To get people to do that work, we need people in those communities to knock on those doors," Charles Spence, Census Office Manager, said. "We need people in Midland County to knock on those doors. If that doesn't happen, we'll have to bring someone in from the outside to help us finish our work."
If they don't find enough workers by March, the census office says they'll have to recruit employees from other parts of the state. Anyone older than 18 is eligible to work with our census division.
