The U.S. Department of Commerce is hiring NIU students and area residents to help in compiling a list of correct addresses to begin its 200th nation-wide census.

People that are hired to work in DeKalb will begin Aug. 10, Barbara Peterson, recruiting operations supervisor for the U.S. Bureau of the Census District Office, in Lombard, Ill., said.

Peterson said the Bureau of Census needs help in Cook, DuPage, Lake, McHenry, Eastern Kane, Will and Kankakee Counties and Rockford in Winnebago County. Bureaus in rural counties, such as Ogle County, will begin address verification in August.

People working in rural areas will need their own transportation, but people in Du Page and Cook Counties might not, depending on the neighborhood area, she said.

To prepare for the 1990 census, two projects have been scheduled for May and August.

The precanvass operation will begin in urban areas on May 15 and continue through June 17. The precanvass will compile a residential address list to make sure everyone receives a census questionnaire, Peterson said.

The Advanced Post Office Check will begin in rural areas on August 10 and continue until September 7. APOC verifies the accuracy of the address list previously compiled in rural areas, she said.

Peterson said there are two types of positions available on the census staff.

Enumerators will be hired to visit assigned areas to record accurate mailing address information for both occupied and vacant homes. Crew leaders also will be hired to supervise about ten enumerators each.

Crew leaders will be paid $7 per hour and enumerators $6 per hour. Students will be paid weekly and there will be reimbursements for mileage at a rate of 22-and-one-half cents per mile. Telephone calls, parking and highway tolls are also reimbursed. The work is offered for four to six weeks and students are expected to work at least 32 hours per week, Peterson said.

Some of the work occurs in the evening and on weekends.

Applicants must pass a written test, be 18-years-old and a U.S. Citizen.

The test has 28 questions covering arithmetic, reading and clerical and organizational skills. Previous work experience and the exam score will determine the crew leaders from enumerators.

Peterson said the test should not take college students more than 15 minutes to complete.

Peterson will be testing NIU students on May 1 at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. in room 506 of the Holmes Student Center.

This year marks the bicentennial for the census, which began in 1790.

Peterson said there is one main difference between the 1980 and 1990 census questionnaire. The 1980 questionnaire, which consisted of only 14 questions, was shorter, she said. The 1990 census will have an additional form added to the standard 14-question reply form. The second form has 59 questions regarding the person’s highest educational level received, language spoken at home, employment and the year moved into residence.

Contact Monique Zeno, NIU job location and development coordinator, at 753-1152 for more information.