WASHINGTON – With the economy still down with record numbers of unemployed, US Senator Charles Schumer wants to make sure unemployed New Yorkers have an opportunity to apply for US Census jobs for the 2010 Census.

Schumer and three other Senate colleagues are urging President Obama to give out-of-work Americans hiring preference for census jobs.

There are 17 local census offices across Upstate New York, and Schumer would like the Census Bureau to team up with the state Labor Department to establish an increased presence at unemployment centers.

“I want to make sure that those workers know that the Census Bureau is hiring and that the Census Bureau is recruiting workers who need work, especially to focus on those whose unemployment benefits may have expired or are about to expire,” he said. “Because people are out of work for so long, there are large numbers of people who no longer get unemployment benefits, even though we have extended them a few times.”

There are local Census offices in Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Rockland and Westchester.