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Hiring for some 2,500 jobs at a new U.S. Census Bureau data collection center in Essex near Baltimore will begin in September, said a spokeswoman for Lockheed Martin Corp., which is managing the center.

The facility will be operated by Lockheed's subcontracting partner, CSC of Falls Church, Va., which is managing the hiring efforts for the new employees. CSC plans to establish a Web site for job applicants to streamline the hiring process, the spokeswoman said.

The Census Bureau opened the 236,500-square-foot facility this week. The center will process about 40 percent of the 2010 Census survey forms that are slated to be mailed in March, with most processing done from March to July.

For Bethesda defense and information technology giant Lockheed Martin, the work is part of a contract awarded by the federal agency in 2005 that could be worth up to $723 million, said Kimberly Jaindl Brannigan, a spokeswoman for Lockheed's Information Systems and Global Services unit that is overseeing the Census contract. The contract is expected to run through at least 2010. Lockheed also worked on the 2000 Census.

Positions will be open in computer scanning, data entry, warehouse operations, document sorting and preparation, and managerial leadership. Employees have begun moving into the facility, and it should be at full capacity by early 2010, she said.

Having so many jobs open up in the county is certainly welcome, even if they are temporary positions, said Keith Scott, president and CEO of the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce.

"The Census Bureau provides some good-paying jobs for the county in these difficult times," Scott said. "These jobs create wealth in other businesses and allow other businesses to expand. You never know what might happen in the future from this activity — it might help entrepreneurs go on to create new businesses."