The unemployed, who had heard that there was work to be found as census takers, began arriving to take their tests at noon. One by one they rang the bell at Community Board 8’s office in Crown Heights and, once buzzed in, made their way to the front desk where they signed in before being ushered into a back room where the tests would be administered.
Debby Cerrington sits in a wooden chair in the reception area, bouncing her foot on the floor. She is wearing a bright blue blouse, jeans and brown boots. Cerrington, 49, has been out of work for more than a year and the stagnant job market has her worried.
“It’s been rough,” Cerrington said. “There aren’t many job openings.”
Cerrington is one of an estimated 126,000 unemployed Brooklyn workers – 11.2 percent of the workforce population. If Cerrington isn’t hired soon, she might have to take more drastic measures to earn an income.
“The only thing I can see to do is to rent part of my house to college students or someone,” Cerrington said.
The door buzzes and in walks Zarah Edghill. She brushes the snow off her brown coat and signs in at the front desk. Edghill, 40, takes the last chair in the reception area and sets her purse on the floor. She lets out a deep sigh.
Like Cerrington, Edghill has also been unemployed for the last year after she was laid off by the Department of Education. She has been working odd-ball jobs to pay the bills with the hopes of landing a full-time job.
“I do catering, personal assistant jobs – anything to support my family,” Edghill said. “This is one of those jobs out there and the pay looks pretty good.”
Eventually Edghill and Cerrington make their way to a back room on the first floor of the office. Folding chairs and tables fill the room. A pile of pencils sits in the middle of the table, awaiting the next test-taker.
The tests, administered three times a day for three days, take about two hours to complete. The exam tests the applicant’s reading comprehension, math and map-reading skills – all for a shot at an $18.75-an-hour, part-time job. The bureau will contact residents between February and May about employment.
At 12:20 p.m., 10 minutes before the exam is scheduled to start, Mapp Arthur walks into the office toting a leather-bound legal pad. Arthur, 51, an unemployed carpenter, had relied upon his wife’s income for the last year to survive.
“If I can get the job, it will help a lot,” Arthur said. “Pay a bill here, pay a bill there. Especially now that it’s winter, it’s not easy to get construction work. It seems like I might have to change careers.”
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