Jun 3, 2021

April hired farm workers down 11%; wages up 6%, USDA reports

The National Agricultural Statistics Service, Agricultural Statistics Board, USDA, released statistics May 26 regarding the U.S. farm worker status.

The department collects information on the number of workers and wages for a week in January, April, July, and October. It includes all agriculture workers, for crops and livestock, within the 48 contiguous states (USDA does not include Alaska or Hawaii in the data).

The report indicated April hired workers were down 11%. Wage rates Increased 6% from the previous year. There were 613,000 workers hired directly by farm operators on the nation’s farms and ranches during the week of April 11-17, 2021, down 11% from the April 2020 reference week.

Workers hired directly by farm operators numbered 506,000 during the week of Jan. 10-16, 2021, down 11% from the January 2020 reference week. Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage of $15.97 per hour during the April 2021 reference week, up 6% from the April 2020 reference week.

Field workers received an average of $15.19 per hour, up 7%. Livestock workers earned $14.81 per hour, up 5%. The field and livestock worker combined wage rate, at $15.06 per hour, was up 6% from the 2020 reference week. Hired laborers worked an average of 40.9 hours during the April 2021 reference week, up 1% from the hours worked during the April 2020 reference week.

Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage of $16.21 per hour during the January 2021 reference week, up 6% from the January 2020 reference week. Field workers received an average of $15.23 per hour, up 7%, while livestock workers earned $14.87 per hour, up 5% from a year earlier.

The field and livestock worker combined wage rate, at $15.08 per hour, was up 6% from the January 2020 reference week. Hired laborers worked an average of 40.2 hours during the January 2021 reference week, unchanged from the hours worked during the January 2020 reference week.

View the full report here.