The U.S. Census Bureau is about to hire hundreds of Quad Citians to help with the 2010 census. Testing for the positions got underway in Rock Island County Tuesday morning.

At the first round of testing, some of the people walking in were just looking for extra cash, but the majority were unemployed.

"I was working in the social services field for Bethany and the Governor chose not to refund the grant program that was funding my particular position," David Umphrey explained about losing his job.

Another tester, Raymond Perkins said, "I've been looking for work for the last two years."

Perkins is trying to get a census job for the second time. He worked for the U.S. Census Bureau back in 1980. That was almost 30 years ago and he didn't think he'd need the work again. Looking at a practice test, he told TV-6 not much has changed.

"The wording is different," Perkins explained.

Unlike Perkins, Umphrey didn't know what to expect. He never thought he'd be looking for census work, but after losing his job in July he needs it. He told TV-6 finding full-time work has been difficult.

"It's challenging because I'm looking for social service work and a lot of us are all looking for the same thing. We're all equally qualified. In fact, any venue you have a number of folks who are equally qualified," Umphrey said.

For those who get hired this is only temporary work. It typically lasts just four to eight weeks. Pay for the positions starts at $13.50 an hour.

The test measures various skills and includes parts on clerical, reading and number skills. You have to bring two forms of valid identification to your test site. For more information click on our "Saw It On Six" section on the homepage.