There are still vacancies for those people who are unemployed and want to take up positions for this year's national census, according to a senior official. Supervisor General of the National Census in the Eastern Makkah Province, Fahd Al-Harthi, confirmed that recruitment for the 2010 census is still ongoing and that priority is given to those who do not have jobs. Al-Harthi, who was attending a training program held on Friday for inspectors participating in the count of the Taif population – which falls under the Eastern Makkah Province's census – said the criteria for employment is decent appearance and good communication skills. He said the number of observers, inspectors and assistants in his area has now reached a total of 2,500, noting that most of those employed are from the Ministry of Education. Al-Harthi said that coordination with relevant bodies is being carried out to recruit women for the census given the fact that there are women-only sections in hospitals and other places. A new feature of this year's census is that it has started simultaneously in all Gulf countries. Forms will be scanned into computers, in addition to the use of new digital maps. He called on citizens and residents to cooperate with census takers and to consider the count as a scientific base for the Kingdom to properly utilize its natural and human resources in various projects.
