The ongoing offshore oil bust has had a major impact on a lot of lives and families in Terrebonne and Lafourche, with thousands of formerly good-paying jobs disappearing, some of them for good.

But 2020 brings what could be a vital temporary reprieve from the unemployment suffered by many in our community: the U.S. Census.

The recruitment of census takers is behind estimates, with about 1,000 jobs to be filled in Terrebonne, Lafourche ans Assumption parishes with a starting wage of $18 per hour.

That would work out to $37,440 per year for a full-time, year-long job.

According to federal calculations, 17.3% of those living in Terrebonne and 16.6% of Lafourche live in poverty. The current U.S. federal poverty level for a household of four is an annual income of $25,750.

While the jobs are temporary, some of them part-time, this fleeting opportunity can have a genuine, positive effect for those looking for work.

It is also important work. The census is used to determine not only how many congressional districts each state has, but where the Legislature draws voting district boundaries. Political redistricting at all levels also stems from census data. When communities are undercounted, they can wind up forfeiting some of their political clout.

It can also cost the area serious money. According to research from George Washington University, nearly $14.5 billion in federal spending came to Louisiana in fiscal 2016 via major programs that rely upon census data. In addition to Medicaid, student loans and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, census results dictate how much Washington spends locally on highways, Section 8, Head Start and school lunch and breakfast programs. The total federal take from programs that use the census to allocate money amounts to more than $3,100 per Louisianan counted.

It may even provide a small boost to the overall economy, when those who do take those jobs counting their neighbors spend the money they earn doing it.

Most of the available jobs are for the boots-on-the-ground census takers. It is not easy work, but then, neither is drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

There are lots of people around here who don't mind a little hard work, especially if they can get properly rewarded for it.

The U.S. census provides exactly that and seems like a win-win for this area.

To apply for one of the available jobs, go to 2020census.gov.

-- Editorials represent the opinion of this newspaper and not any single individual.