Farm Labor

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369

SSN: 1949-0909

Released May 18, 2017, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service
(NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA).

April Hired Workers Down 4 Percent, Wage Rate Increases 4 Percent From
Previous Year

There were 673,000 workers hired directly by farm operators on the Nation’s
farms and ranches during the week of April 9-15, 2017, down 4 percent from
the April 2016 reference week. Workers hired directly by farm operators
numbered 533,000 during the week of January 8-14, 2017, down 8 percent from
the January 2016 reference week.

Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage of $13.23 per hour
during the April 2017 reference week, up 4 percent from the April 2016
reference week. Field workers received an average of $12.22 per hour, an
increase of 2 percent. Livestock workers earned $12.53 per hour, up
4 percent. The field and livestock worker combined wage rate, at $12.32 per
hour, was up 3 percent from the 2016 reference week. Hired laborers worked
an
average of 40.4 hours during the April 2017 reference week, equaling the
hours worked during the April 2016 reference week.

Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage of $13.43 per hour
during the January 2017 reference week, up 5 percent from the January 2016
reference week. Field workers received an average of $12.15 per hour, up 3
percent, while livestock workers earned $12.66 per hour, up 5 percent from a

year earlier. The field and livestock worker combined wage rate, at $12.35
per hour, was up 4 percent from the January 2016 reference week. Hired
laborers worked an average of 38.0 hours during the January 2017 reference
week, compared with 38.8 hours worked during the January 2016 reference
week.

April Reference Week

For the April 2017 reference week, the largest percentage increases in the
number of hired workers from the 2016 reference week occurred in the
Florida,
Northeast II (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania), and
Southeast (Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina) regions. The Southeast
region saw the largest increase, with 36 percent more workers on the
region’s
farms.

The largest percentage decreases in the number of hired workers from the
2016
reference week occurred in the Cornbelt I (Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio),
Lake
(Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin), and Southern Plains (Oklahoma and
Texas) regions. Cornbelt I saw the biggest decline, with workers down 23
percent from the 2016 reference week.
The largest percentage increases in average wage rates for all hired workers

occurred in the Appalachian I (North Carolina and Virginia), Hawaii, and
Northeast I (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York,
Rhode Island, and Vermont) regions.
January Reference Week

For the January 2017 reference week, the largest percentage increases in the

number of hired workers from the 2016 reference week occurred in the
Appalachian II (Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia), Northeast II
(Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania), and Southeast (Alabama,
Georgia, and South Carolina) regions. The Southeast region saw the largest
increase, with 41 percent more workers on the region’s farms.

The largest percentage decreases in the number of hired workers from the
2016

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