Wisconsin is positioned to receive close to 47,000 jobs as part of a temporary U.S. Census Bureau workforce that will help collect data for the 2010 census.
The Wisconsin recruitment goal includes recruiting 4,200 temporary employees from the Madison area.
According to a statement from the U.S. Census Bureau, most positions will run two to six weeks. Average pay will be between $11 and $15 per hour.
Timothy Smeeding, director of the Institute for Research on Poverty, said the influx of jobs is aimed at fighting the recession.
""This is very helpful given the high unemployment rate … and it will tide some people over for a short period of time,"" he said.
Smeeding said although he does not know if the temporary jobs will serve as a model for job creation in other areas, he said the jobs will benefit those hired.
""There are going to be people really hungry for these benefits,"" Smeeding said. ""There'll be lots of people applying, and [the jobs] will really help people in a tight pinch.""
Those hired will work a part-time schedule of 20 to 40 hours per week. Most of the temporary employees will work in field operations and will collect data from households that did not respond to census questionnaires given in mid-March.
