Although the amount is not that significant, it still created a positive impact on the island’s economy, he added.
Ada, who was yesterday’s guest at the Saipan Chamber of Commerce meeting at the Pacific Islands Club, said the Census 2010 economic spending reports showed that $1.2 million was used to pay 39 vendors for supplies, advertising, cleaning services and other items.
A total of 235 individuals were hired for primary employment while 150 individuals were hired for secondary employment.
Ada said 56 of the employed individuals were previously unemployed.
The CNMI was the first insular jurisdiction to complete the Census 2010, way ahead of the Sept. 30 “closing time.”
“We stayed well within the budgetary requirements for the duration of the process and we had the lowest attrition rate compared to the previous Census efforts,” Ada said.
The CNMI also had no breaches of confidentiality and no operational issues, he added.
“We attribute the success of the Census 2010 to the strong community participation and the strong partnership between the federal and the local governments,” Ada said.
He thanked the community for accommodating the Census workers who went from house to house in the villages to get the questionnaires filled out, and for accommodating the numerous follow-up phone calls they had to make to clarify some answers.
The Census is a count of everyone living in the United States and is conducted every 10 years as mandated by the U.S. The first U.S. Census in the Northern Marianas was conducted in 1950.
