Census to create thousands of jobs

TIRANA, July 26 – Albania’s Institute of Statics is expected to employ more than 15,000 people to handle the upcoming population and housing census, which is expected to kick off October 1 and last for about three weeks.
The population and housing registration process has sparked a debate in the country with a civic organization called Red-And-Black Alliance calling for a referendum against two questions in the paper– that on ethnicity and that on religion– saying that many people will change their identity in order to be able to continue living and working in neighboring Greece. The census was originally scheduled for April, but the Albanian government decided to postpone it citing technical problems and the local elections held in May this year. The form will not contain specifications on nationality, but citizens will instead be asked to provide the ethno-cultural group they belong to. The government has said people should not fear the questions which they may chose not to respond.