. . .But for the first time in months Mr Simore is optimistic on his job prospects. He applied for a job with the US Census Bureau, which is hiring 1.2m workers to carry out its decennial population count on April 1. The job, which pays $20 (€14.30, £13.30) an hour, would make Mr Simore a foot soldier in the largest civilian mobilisation of workers in US history – an effort likely to give a temporary boost to a battered jobs market. The census could not come at a better time, economists say, with official data out on Friday expected to confirm that the national unemployment rate hovers just below 10 per cent.