Progress of the 1990 Decennial Census: Some Causes for Concern

GAO discussed the status of the 1990 decennial census, focusing on New York. GAO found that: (1) as a result of the lower-than-expected mail response rate, the Census Bureau may need to hire over 37,000 additional employees, which will increase census costs; (2) the Bureau's productivity and ability to meet staffing goals were causes for concern; (3) the single most important indicator of follow-up progress is how many cases are actually completed; (4) the Bureau's management information system thus far has been unable to provide complete data, which has impeded census managers in their monitoring activities; and (5) the Bureau's district offices in New York City generally followed planned procedures for handling reports of missed housing units and proposed that 80,000 units be added to the census rolls.