The U.S. Census Bureau will pay northeast Indiana workers up to $22.50 an hour, an increase announced this week as it struggles to attract applicants for thousands of temporary positions.

The historically low national unemployment rate of 3.5% is adding to the challenge of conducting the once-a-decade count of everyone living in the United States.

Most of the openings are for enumerators, the people who visit homes where no one has filled out the census form online or by mail. The Census Bureau also has current temporary positions for recruiting assistants and office positions.

In Wells and Whitley counties, those part-time positions will pay $22.50 an hour. The rate for Allen County is $20.50 to $22.50. And the hourly rate is $18.50 for Adams, DeKalb, Huntington, Kosciusko, Noble and Steuben counties.

The previous rates were not outlined in the news release.

Census officials, who are trying to hire 500,000 workers nationwide, reimburse enumerators for mileage and other approved expenses. Pay rates vary by position and location.

The bureau is looking for people who are courteous, professional and not hesitant about knocking on a stranger's door and starting a conversation, spokeswoman Lindy Studds said. It also wants people who are familiar with the places where they will be working.

“Ideally we want to hire people either from within the community they're going to work or to have worked in that community because they'll be better received when they go knock on the door,” Studds said. “That gives them a leg up, if they've already had an association with that community in some way.”

Census director Stephen Dillingham has referred to the decennial census as the country's largest peacetime mobilization of people. The last time around, in 2010, the country was struggling to emerge from the Great Recession, and plenty of people were looking for part-time work, Studds said.

“The low unemployment rate in the Midwest, including Indiana, has posed a challenge in recruiting workers for the 2020 Census,” spokesman Tim Swarens said in an email.

Census forms will be available in mid-March, and Census Day is April 1.

“People will be able to complete the census online, by phone or through the mail,” Swarens said. “Starting in May, census takers will visit residences where the form has not yet been completed.”

That schedule places a deadline on the bureau's hiring efforts.

One concern officials have is that applicants will accept a census job, then not take it when something better comes along. As a result, the bureau is seeking more applicants – five or more for every job it hopes to fill – so it has an adequate pool to choose from.

Applicants must be at least 18 years old, have a valid Social Security number and be a U.S. citizen, though the bureau may, if necessary, hire noncitizen translators who are legally able to work in the U.S.

Flexible hours make it possible for even those working full-time jobs to participate in the census effort, officials said.

The Census Bureau will accept applications through the end of January. Those who are hired will go through paid training before being put to work.

The part-time jobs are expected to last six to eight weeks.

Even more challenging than attracting enough applicants is finding bilingual ones. Anyone fluent in English and a second language is encouraged to apply for a position taking information from non-English speaking residents.

Census taker positions provide an opportunity for people to earn extra income while helping their community, officials said. The results will determine each state's representation in Congress and how tax money is spent for schools, hospitals, roads and more.

To learn more about Census 2020 jobs, or to apply for one, go online to 2020census.gov/jobs or call 1-855-JOB-2020.

sslater@jg.net

The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) contributed to this story.