Wage, Employment and Demographic Trends for Hired Farmworkers in the US

Abstract

Real hourly wages, annual hours of work and annual earnings of US farmworkers are rising both in absolute terms and in relation to workers in the non-farm economy. This is likely driven by a combination of the reduced rate of net immigration from Mexico, rising minimum wages and rising labor demand. In fiscal years 2013–2014, just 2% of the crop farm workforce were recent immigrants, compared to 23% in fiscal years 1999–2000. These recent immigrants tend to be young, so that in their absence the farm workforce is aging and less geographically mobile than in past years. Growers have responded by adopting new technologies to raise labor productivity, switching to less labor-intensive crops and increasing their use of the H-2A visa program, which brings foreign-born workers to the US on a temporary basis. Thus far, these adjustments appear to have succeeded in restraining the growth in labor costs as a share of total cash expenses or gross cash income.