The US Census Bureau is helping to create many Nevada government jobs.

The Bureau has been hiring local residents in nearly every corner of the country to help complete the upcoming 2010 Census. So far, 1,500 workers were hired for the first phase of the Census, with 54 of those in Carson City. About 11,000 people applied for positions throughout Nevada, and the Bureau will temporarily provide about 5,000 people with Nevada jobs throughout the entire Census process.

According to an article by the Nevada Appeal, the first phase includes temporary census workers canvassing neighborhoods to check the accuracy of addresses provided by local governments. This phase will continue through the summer. The information will then be compiled along with other information collected in the fall on group housing, such as college dorms and senior retirement homes.

“The national census is only taken once a decade, so it’s extremely important that we get an accurate count,” Jeff Hardcastle, Nevada State Demographer based on the University of Nevada, Reno campus, said in the article. “Every person missed costs the state more than $900 in federal funding. That can really add up.”

In the spring of 2010, a short form Census will be mailed to residents. The form asks for basic information such as name, relationship, age, race, sex, ethnicity and whether the home is rented or owned. Return postage is paid for by the government. Any person who fails to return completed forms will receive six follow-up attempts.

“It’s imperative that people fill out these short forms and return them,” Hardcastle said. “The less follow-up we have to do to attain accurate information, the less it costs us to take the census.

“Given the remarkable growth Nevada has experienced over the last decade, an accurate count this Census year can really benefit our state,” Hardcastle continued. “Growth means more representation in Congress and more per-capita dollars.”