STATIN Recruiting Census Takers And Supervisors

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) is encouraging citizens to apply to become census takers and supervisors for the 2022 Population and Housing Census.

Recruitment will begin on Sunday, March 13 and end on Sunday, April 3, 2022.

Corporate Communications Manager, STATIN, Georgia Garvey-Green, told JIS News that STATIN is looking to recruit approximately 8,000 census workers from across the island for the data-collection exercise, which will begin in September 2022.

Applications will only be accepted online. The form is available on STATIN’s website at www.statinja.gov.jm/.

Mrs. Garvey-Green informed that persons 18 years and older who have attained secondary-level education or have worked with STATIN on surveys in the past are eligible to apply.

“You can look at it from two ways. You can look at it as you helping your community and helping the Government and STATIN to understand the demographics of your community, so that data can be available to make informed decisions, not just by the Government but by individuals, the business community and civil society organisations,” she said.

Mrs. Garvey-Green emphasised that being a census worker is a “paid job” that allows persons to choose whether they want to collect the data in the afternoon or on weekends.

“Persons who are employed or unemployed can, therefore, apply… they can take it on as a part-time job and they can set the hours, in conjunction with their supervisor, that they go out and collect the data,” she added.

Data collection is expected to end in December 2022, after which the information is compiled, analysed and a census report produced.

The exercise is conducted once every 10 years and allows the country to take a snapshot of its population to determine how many people reside within its borders, who they are, and where they live. It counts everyone in the country.

The 15th Population and Housing Census was initially scheduled for 2021 but was delayed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The last census was done in 2011.