HDR1012000170050516971500FARM LABOR Farm Labor National Agricultural Statistics Service United States Department of Agriculture Washington, D.C. Released May 16, 1997, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Farm Labor" call Eddie Oaks at (202) 690-3228, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. All Hired Workers Up 3 Percent, Wages Up 5 Percent From Last April There were 1.02 million hired workers on the Nation's farms and ranches during the week of April 6-12, 1997, 3 percent more than last year. There were 809,000 workers hired directly by farm operators. Agricultural service employees on farms and ranches made up the remaining 207,000 workers. Migrant workers accounted for 6.3 percent of the hired workforce, compared to 7.5 percent a year ago. Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage of $7.10 per hour during the April 1997 survey week, up 34 cents from a year earlier. Field workers received an average of $6.72 per hour, up 41 cents. Livestock workers earned $6.41 per hour compared with $6.22 a year earlier. During the survey week of April 6-12, 1997, a formidable high-pressure system chilled the Nation. Weekly temperatures averaged 10 to 25 degrees F below normal throughout the Plains and Midwest. Despite the chill, major to record flooding continued in the Red and upper Mississippi River basins. Cooler-than- normal conditions also encompassed the rest of the Nation, except Florida, where temperatures averaged up to 5 degrees F above normal. After midweek, there were significant snow accumulations from the Central Plains into the Midwest. Heavy rains ranged from southern Kansas to northern Texas. Farther east, scattered showers were from southern Texas to the lower Ohio Valley, but heavy rainfall soaked the lower Delta region. Later in the week, rain spread into the East with scattered thunderstorms active in the Southeast. Early week blizzard conditions went across the North Central States. Midweek snow developed on parts of the central Plains. In California, cotton planting continued while small grain fields continued to head out. Alfalfa and oat acreage were cut for hay or green chopped. Early irrigation was underway in orchards and vineyards due to the continued dry spring. Lemons, grapefruit and oranges were harvested. Leaf and head lettuce harvest were at their peak in Fresno County. Broccoli, cauliflower, sugar peas, and green onions were harvested. Summer vegetables and melons were planted. Activities in Florida included field preparations for numerous spring planted crops, such as tomatoes, potatoes, sweet corn, peppers, cabbage, and cucumbers. Valencia harvest was very active while other citrus harvests were slowing. In Texas, a few corn fields were planted in the High Plains while other planting took place along the Upper Coast. Cotton planting was slowly increasing in parts of the central areas. Recent heavy rains in many southern and coastal areas will cause replanting to occur. In the Rio Grande Valley, wet fields have slowed harvest of onions and other vegetables. Farm Labor: Employment and Wage Rates, United States, April 6-12, 1997, with Comparisons 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 7-13, : January 12-18, : April 6-12, Farm Employment : 1996 : 1997 : 1997 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 : Hired Workers : 780 635 809 Expected to be Employed : 150 Days or More : 599 537 658 149 Days or Less : 181 98 151 : Agricultural Services : Workers Working on Farms : 207 131 207 : Hired Farm & Service Workers : 987 766 1,016 : : : Percent : Migrant Workers Percent of : Hired Farm & Service Workers: 7.5 9.5 6.3 : : : Hours per Week : Hours Worked : Hired : 40.7 36.5 40.6 : : : Dollars per Hour : Wage Rates for : All Hired Workers 2/ 3/ : 6.76 7.19 7.10 : Type of Worker : Field & Livestock Combined : 6.28 6.57 6.63 Field : 6.31 6.60 6.72 Livestock : 6.22 6.52 6.41 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes AK. 2/ Benefits, such as housing and meals, are provided some workers but the values are not included in the wage rates. 3/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. Hired Workers: Number and Hours Worked by Region and United States, April 6-12, 1997 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hired :--------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. : : Expected to be Employed : and : Number :-------------------------------: Number Region 2/ : of : 150 Days : 149 Days : of hours : Workers : or More : or Less : Worked -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------------- 1,000 -------------- Hours per Week : Northeast I : 40 31 9 41.0 Northeast II : 41 35 6 40.8 : Appalachian I : 38 29 9 41.4 Appalachian II : 25 17 8 34.2 : Southeast : 43 35 8 33.8 FL : 60 52 8 40.9 : Lake : 63 50 13 33.6 : Cornbelt I : 55 45 10 35.7 Cornbelt II : 27 20 7 36.2 : Delta : 39 32 7 38.7 : Northern Plains : 27 24 3 43.1 : Southern Plains : 55 44 11 40.5 : Mountain I : 20 16 4 50.8 Mountain II : 22 16 6 40.4 Mountain III : 16 14 2 43.2 : Pacific : 61 46 15 43.8 CA : 171 147 24 45.1 : HI : 6 5 1 37.6 : US 3/ : 809 658 151 40.6 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 13. 3/ Excludes AK. Hired Workers: Wage Rates for Type of Workers and All Hired Workers by Region and United States, April 6-12, 1997 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Type of Worker : U.S. :--------------------------------------------: Wage Rates for and : : :Field & Lvstk :All Hired Workers Region 2/ : Field : Livestock : Combined : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : Northeast I : 7.11 5.67 6.59 7.22 Northeast II : 6.62 5.81 6.25 6.94 : Appalachian I : 6.45 6.85 6.57 6.76 Appalachian II : 5.69 6.28 5.84 6.23 : Southeast : 7.50 5.70 7.02 7.62 FL : 6.50 6.30 6.48 7.19 : Lake : 7.50 6.56 6.91 7.31 : Cornbelt I : 7.28 7.47 7.33 7.91 Cornbelt II : 6.76 6.43 6.57 6.64 : Delta : 5.96 6.36 6.06 6.50 : Northern Plains : 7.96 6.61 7.08 7.73 : Southern Plains : 5.37 5.78 5.57 5.98 : Mountain I : 6.59 4.95 5.65 5.94 Mountain II : 6.57 5.93 6.37 6.94 Mountain III : 5.78 5.90 5.81 6.24 : Pacific : 6.71 7.54 6.89 7.36 CA : 6.90 8.06 6.99 7.35 : HI : 8.81 3/ 8.82 9.97 : US 4/ : 6.72 6.41 6.63 7.10 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 13. 3/ Insufficient data. 4/ Excludes AK. Hired Workers: Number and Hours Worked by Region and United States, January 12-18, 1997 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hired :--------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. : : Expected to be Employed : and : Number :-------------------------------: Number Region 2/ : of : 150 Days : 149 Days : of Hours : Workers : or More : or Less : Worked -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------------- 1,000 ------------- Hours per Week : Northeast I : 29 25 4 38.6 Northeast II : 30 26 4 40.5 : Appalachian I : 23 19 4 34.3 Appalachian II : 24 20 4 29.6 : Southeast : 33 30 3 37.0 FL : 67 58 9 35.5 : Lake : 44 39 5 37.2 : Cornbelt I : 31 27 4 34.8 Cornbelt II : 24 20 4 37.8 : Delta : 26 22 4 33.1 : Northern Plains : 25 21 4 38.0 : Southern Plains : 47 38 9 38.5 : Mountain I : 11 10 1 43.9 Mountain II : 13 12 1 38.9 Mountain III : 15 13 2 42.6 : Pacific : 49 42 7 40.0 CA : 137 109 28 34.0 : HI : 7 6 1 35.5 : US 3/ : 635 537 98 36.5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 13. 3/ Excludes AK. Hired Workers: Wage Rates for Type of Worker and All Hired Workers By Region and United States, January 12-18, 1997 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Type of Worker : U.S. :--------------------------------------------: Wage Rates for and : : :Field & Lvstk :All Hired Workers Region 2/ : Field : Livestock : Combined : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : Northeast I : 7.78 6.28 6.82 7.45 Northeast II : 7.38 6.12 6.66 7.40 : Appalachian I : 6.24 6.91 6.46 6.85 Appalachian II : 5.87 6.27 6.08 6.80 : Southeast : 7.36 6.14 7.01 7.43 FL : 6.80 6.80 6.80 7.35 : Lake : 7.74 6.20 6.66 7.28 : Cornbelt I : 7.13 7.42 7.27 7.88 Cornbelt II : 7.35 6.32 6.74 7.22 : Delta : 6.26 6.16 6.21 6.82 : Northern Plains : 7.80 7.16 7.35 7.57 : Southern Plains : 5.56 5.97 5.81 6.11 : Mountain I : 6.19 6.59 6.48 6.91 Mountain II : 6.75 6.64 6.67 7.37 Mountain III : 5.82 5.90 5.84 6.36 : Pacific : 6.71 6.92 6.78 7.42 CA : 6.04 7.50 6.25 7.10 : HI : 8.85 3/ 8.87 10.32 : US 4/ : 6.60 6.52 6.57 7.19 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 13. 3/ Insufficient data. 4/ Excludes AK. Hired Workers: Number and Hours Worked by Region and United States, April 7-13, 1996 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hired :--------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. : : Expected to be Employed : and : Number :-------------------------------: Number Region 2/ : of : 150 Days : 149 Days : of Hours : Workers : or More 3/ : or Less 3/ : Worked -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------------- 1,000 -------------- Hours per Week : Northeast I : 33 27 6 40.8 Northeast II : 35 30 5 38.4 : Appalachian I : 38 27 11 37.5 Appalachian II : 20 13 7 33.6 : Southeast : 32 23 9 37.2 FL : 50 43 7 38.5 : Lake : 59 44 15 36.7 : Cornbelt I : 43 35 8 37.2 Cornbelt II : 27 20 7 34.7 : Delta : 44 32 12 41.8 : Northern Plains : 36 28 8 40.5 : Southern Plains : 64 48 16 41.6 : Mountain I : 27 21 6 48.9 Mountain II : 15 11 4 43.3 Mountain III : 19 16 3 49.2 : Pacific : 46 30 16 40.7 CA : 185 145 40 43.9 : HI : 7 6 1 37.5 : US 3/ : 780 599 181 40.7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 13. 3/ Excludes AK. Hired Workers: Wage Rates for Type of Worker and All Hired Workers By Region and United States, April 7-13, 1996 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Type of Worker : U.S. :--------------------------------------------: Wage Rates for and : : :Field & Lvstk :All Hired Workers Region 2/ : Field : Livestock : Combined : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : Northeast I : 7.47 6.20 6.93 7.27 Northeast II : 6.62 5.31 6.11 6.78 : Appalachian I : 5.60 6.21 5.78 6.03 Appalachian II : 5.84 5.75 5.80 6.29 : Southeast : 5.52 5.63 5.56 5.96 FL : 6.12 7.10 6.27 7.05 : Lake : 6.78 6.39 6.56 7.02 : Cornbelt I : 6.57 6.76 6.61 7.14 Cornbelt II : 6.47 7.00 6.67 6.89 : Delta : 5.38 5.74 5.46 5.65 : Northern Plains : 6.76 5.79 6.32 6.51 : Southern Plains : 5.38 5.53 5.45 6.12 : Mountain I : 5.54 5.29 5.42 5.78 Mountain II : 5.60 5.88 5.73 6.53 Mountain III : 5.67 6.03 5.74 6.34 : Pacific : 6.83 7.22 6.87 7.44 CA : 6.53 7.50 6.64 7.14 : HI : 8.79 3/ 8.76 10.13 : US 4/ : 6.31 6.22 6.28 6.76 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 13. 3/ Insufficient data. 4/ Excludes AK. Field and Livestock Workers Combined: Wage Rates, by Type of Farm, by Region and 48 States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 7-13, 1996 : April 6-12, 1997 :--------------------------------------------------------------- Region 2/ : Field : Other :L'stk &: All : Field : Other :L'stk &: All : Crops : Crops :Poultry: Farms : Crops : Crops :Poultry: Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : Northeast : 6.60 7.34 5.74 6.51 6.87 6.68 5.77 6.30 Appalachian : 5.48 5.73 6.07 5.78 5.55 7.01 6.90 6.35 Southeast : 4.63 5.41 5.51 5.29 5.35 7.02 4.98 6.51 Lake : 5.85 7.35 6.44 6.56 7.87 6.75 6.89 6.91 Cornbelt : 6.44 6.21 7.36 6.63 7.70 6.94 6.91 6.96 Delta : 5.38 5.03 5.75 5.46 6.02 6.47 6.04 6.06 Northern Plains : 6.89 5.49 6.12 6.32 7.62 5.91 6.89 7.08 Southern Plains : 5.47 5.09 5.56 5.45 5.69 5.11 5.82 5.57 Mountain : 5.65 5.83 5.43 5.59 6.16 6.54 5.31 5.91 Pacific : 6.29 6.64 7.29 6.68 7.21 7.43 7.83 7.33 48 States : 5.81 6.40 6.19 6.19 6.30 6.89 6.34 6.60 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Hired Workers: Wage Rates, by Economic Class of Farm by Region and 48 States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 7-13, 1996 : April 6-12, 1997 Region :---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2/ : Gross Value Sales-$1000's : All : Gross Value Sales-$1000's : All : <40 :40-99 :100-249 :250+ :Farms : <40 :40-99 :100-249 : 250+ :Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : N. East : 5.62 5.67 5.74 7.84 7.02 3/ 6.90 6.33 7.23 7.08 Appal. : 5.86 5.75 6.54 6.20 6.11 5.95 5.74 6.64 6.88 6.57 S. East : 4.96 5.06 5.56 5.70 5.62 5.89 6.41 6.20 3/ 8.11 Lake : 4.84 6.03 6.65 7.31 7.02 7.27 6.32 6.05 6.89 7.31 Cornbelt : 6.55 5.65 6.09 7.28 7.05 7.15 7.23 7.59 7.48 7.22 Delta : 5.42 5.60 5.51 5.75 5.65 5.91 6.57 6.73 6.56 6.50 N. Plains: 5.22 7.07 5.24 7.10 6.51 5.84 3/ 6.98 3/ 7.73 S. Plains: 5.07 6.76 6.59 6.21 6.12 5.19 5.84 5.89 6.21 5.98 Mountain : 6.38 5.50 5.76 6.28 6.12 6.32 5.54 5.66 6.67 6.27 Pacific : 7.11 6.65 7.07 7.23 7.20 5.04 6.70 7.25 7.41 7.16 48 States: 5.81 5.87 6.18 6.87 6.73 5.96 6.35 6.49 7.45 7.16 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Regions consist of the following States. Northeast: CT, DE, MD, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT. Appalachian: KY, NC, TN, VA, WV. Southeast: AL, FL, GA, SC. Lake: MI, MN, WI. Cornbelt: IA, IL, IN, MO, OH. Delta: AR, LA, MS. Northern Plains: KS, NE, ND, SD. Southern Plains: OK, TX. Mountain: AZ, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, UT, WY. Pacific: CA, OR, WA. 48 States: All States, excluding AK and HI. 3/ Insufficent data. Field and Livestock Workers: Distribution by Type of Farm, 48 States 1/ 2/ 3/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type of : April 7-13, : January 12-18, : April 6-12, Farm : 1996 : 1997 : 1997 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Field and Livestock Workers : Field Crops : 23 12 21 Other Crops : 47 58 49 Livestock, Dairy, : & Poultry : 30 30 30 : 100.0 100.0 100.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hired Workers: Distribution by Economic Class of Farm, 48 States 1/ 3/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gross Value : April 7-13, : January 12-18, : April 6-12, of Sales : 1996 : 1997 : 1997 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Hired Workers : Less than $40,000 : 9 12 8 $40,000-$99,999 : 9 6 7 $100,000-$249,999 : 17 17 15 $250,000 and over : 65 65 70 : 100.0 100.0 100.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hired Workers: Distribution by Category, United States, 1/ 3/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 7-13, : January 12-18, : April 6-12, : 1996 : 1997 : 1997 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Hired Workers Employed on Farms Hiring : 1 Worker : 14 13 11 2 Workers : 11 10 10 3-6 Workers : 21 19 20 7-10 Workers : 11 9 9 At least 11 Workers : 43 49 50 : 100.0 100.0 100.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ 48 States, excluding AK and HI. 2/ Field and Livestock Workers combined. 3/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. Agricultural Services Crew leaders and custom crews provided 207,000 workers for the Nation's farms and ranches during the week of April 6-12, 1997, the same as a year ago. Service workers in California numbered 90,000 compared with 63,000 during the April 1996 survey week. Florida's number of service workers was 13,000, compared to 10,500 last year. The average wages received by agricultural service workers in California and Florida were $7.21 and $8.44 per hour, respectively. Comparable wages in April 1996 were $6.58 in California and $7.68 in Florida. Agricultural Service Workers: Number, Hours Worked, and Wage Rates, for California, Florida, and United States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Workers : Hours : Wage : Working on Farms : Worked 2/ : Rates 2/ 3/ State:------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Apr : Jan : Apr : Apr : Jan : Apr : Apr : Jan : Apr : 1996 : 1997 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 : 1997 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------- 1,000 ------- ------- Hours ------ Dollars per Hour : CA : 63.0 50.0 90.0 38.2 *32.0 39.3 6.58 7.10 7.21 FL : 10.5 15.8 13.0 31.5 37.0 35.7 7.68 8.05 8.44 : US : 207.0 131.0 207.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised 1/ Data are for Agricultural Services performed on the farm by custom service units such as crew leaders or custom crews. These statistics are not included in the State-Regional tables. 2/ United States data not available. 3/ Benefits, such as housing and meals, are provided some workers but the values are not included in the wage rates. Migrant Workers: Percent of all Hired Workers, United States, By Quarter (Includes Agricultural Service Workers), 1995-97 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year : Jan : Apr : Jul : Oct -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : 1995 2/ : N/A N/A 12.4 11.6 1996 : 5.7 7.5 13.1 11.1 1997 : 9.5 6.3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Definition "Migrant Worker" is a farm worker whose employment required travel that prevented the farm worker from returning to his/her permanent place of residence the same day. 2/ Data first collected during July 1995 survey. Farm Labor Regions Region States Northeast I CT, ME, MA, NH, NY, RI, VT. Northeast II DE, MD, NJ, PA. Appalachian I NC, VA. Appalachian II KY, TN, WV. Southeast AL, GA, SC. Lake MI, MN, WI. Cornbelt I IL, IN, OH. Cornbelt II IA, MO. Delta AR, LA, MS. Northern Plains KS, NE, ND, SD. Southern Plains OK, TX. Mountain I ID, MT, WY. Mountain II CO, NV, UT. Mountain III AZ, NM. Pacific OR, WA. Farm Labor Definitions The following definitions are provided to assist in interpreting statistics published in quarterly Farm Labor reports. To insure consistency in data collection, the questionnaires and instruction manual used by the interviewers provide more in-depth explanations of these terms. Farm or Ranch: Places that sell, or would normally sell, at least $1000 worth of agricultural products during the year. Agricultural Work: Work done on a farm or ranch in connection with the production of agricultural products, including nursery and greenhouse products and animal specialties such as fur farms or apiaries. Also included is work done off the farm to handle farm related business, such as trips to buy feed or deliver products to local market. Self-employed Worker: A farm or ranch operator or partner who did at least one hour of unpaid agricultural work on a farm or ranch during the survey week. Unpaid Worker: Anyone, other than a self-employed worker, who did at least 15 hours of unpaid agricultural work on a farm or ranch during the survey week. Hired Worker: Anyone, other than an agricultural service worker, who was paid for at least one hour of agricultural work on a farm or ranch. Worker type is determined by what the employee was primarily hired to do, not necessarily what work was done during the survey week. Type of workers include: Field Workers: Employees engaged in planting, tending and harvesting crops including operation of farm machinery on crop farms. Livestock Workers: Employees tending livestock, milking cows or caring for poultry, including operation of farm machinery on livestock or poultry operations. Supervisors: Hired managers, range foremen, crew leaders, etc. Other Workers: Employees engaged in agricultural work not included in the other three categories. Bookkeepers and pilots are examples. Methods of Pay: Wage rates are calculated based on total wages and hours worked during the survey week. Definitions - continued Perquisites: Benefits, such as cash bonuses, housing, or meals, provided to an employee in addition to pay are included in perquisites. Wage rates published in this release do not include the value of these benefits. Term of Employment: The length of time during the year the farm operator expects to employ those workers who were on the payroll during the survey week. Agricultural Service: Agricultural work performed on a farm or ranch if the provider of the service is paid on a contract basis for materials, equipment, or labor. Type of Farm (or Ranch): An operation is classified in the farm type which accounts for the largest portion of the total value of sales for its agriculture production. The three types of farms are: Field Crops: A farm primarily engaged in the production of: wheat, rice, corn, soybeans, barley, dry beans, rye, sorghum, cotton, popcorn, tobacco, potatoes, sugar crops, hay, peanuts, hops, mint, or other such crops. Other Crops: A farm primarily engaged in the production of: vegetables, melons, berry crops, grapes, tree nuts, citrus fruits, deciduous tree fruits, avocados, dates, figs, olives, nursery, or greenhouse crops. Livestock or Poultry: An operation primarily engaged in production of: cattle, hogs, sheep, goats, milk, chickens, eggs, turkeys, or animal specialties such as furs, fish, honey, etc. Gross Value of Sales: Gross value includes all income during a year from the sale of crops, livestock, dairy, poultry, or other related agricultural products, including the landlord's share. When commodities are placed under CCC loan, they are considered as sold. Reliability of Farm Labor Estimates Survey Procedures: These data were collected by the National Agricultural Statistics Service during the last two weeks of April using sampling procedures to ensure every employer of agricultural workers had a chance of being selected. Two samples of farm operators are selected. First, NASS maintains a list of farms that hire farm workers. Farms on this list are classified by size and type. Those expected to employ large numbers of workers are selected with greater frequency than those hiring few or no workers. A second sample consists of segments of land scientifically selected from aerial photography. Each June, highly trained interviewers locate each selected land segment and identify every farm operating land within the sample segment's boundaries. The names of farms found in these area segments are matched against the list of farms; those not found on the list are included in the labor survey sample to represent all farms not on the NASS list. This methodology is known as multiple frame sampling, with an area sample used to measure the incompleteness of the list. Additionally, a list of agricultural service firms was sampled in California and Florida. The survey reference week was April 6-12, 1997. Reliability: Two types of errors, sampling and nonsampling, are possible in an estimate based on a sample survey. Both types affect the "precision" of the estimates. Sampling error occurs because a complete census is not taken. The sampling error measures the variation in estimates from the average of all possible samples. An estimate of 100 with a sampling error of 1 would mean that chances are 19 out of 20 that the estimates from all possible samples averaged together would be between 98 and 102; which is the survey estimate, plus or minus two times the sampling error. The sampling error expressed as a percent of the estimate is called the relative sampling error. The relative sampling error for number of all hired workers at the U.S. level was 4.1 percent. The relative sampling error for number of hired workers generally ranged between 8 and 20 percent at the regional level. The U.S. all hired farm worker wage rate had a relative sampling error of 3.1 percent. The relative sampling error was 2.4 percent for the combined field and livestock worker wage rate. Relative sampling errors for the all hired farm worker wage rate generally ranged between 3 and 8 percent at the regional level. Relative sampling errors for wage rates published by type of farm and economic class of farm ranged between 2 and 10 percent at the regional level. Nonsampling errors can occur in complete censuses as well as in sample surveys. They are caused by the inability to obtain correct information from each operation sampled, differences in interpreting questions or definitions, and mistakes in coding or processing the data. Special efforts are taken at each step of the survey to minimize nonsampling errors. Revision Policy: Farm labor information is subject to revision the next time the information is published or the year after the original publication date. The basis for revision must be supported by additional data that directly affect the level of the estimate. Worker numbers and wage rates for April, 1996 and January, 1997 were subject to revision with this report. There were no revisions made. The August 15th report will have information for the survey week of July 6-12, 1997. The report will include the number of All Hired Workers, Average Hours Worked by Hired Workers and the All Hired Worker Wage Rates regional and U.S. levels. The wage rate for field and livestock workers will be available for the regional and U.S. level. The number of self-employed and unpaid workers along with the corresponding average hours worked will be available for California, Florida, Hawaii, and at the regional and U.S. level. Wage rates by type of worker, type of farm, and economic class of farm will also be available at the regional and U.S. level. The number of Agricultural Service Workers and the corresponding wage rates will be published for Florida and California. Index Page U.S. Hired Workers on Farms, Wage Rates and Hours Worked ................ 3 Number of Workers and Average Hours Worked by Region and U.S. April 1997 ............................................................ 4 January 1997 .......................................................... 6 April 1996 ............................................................ 8 Wage Rates by Region and U.S. April 1997 ............................................................ 5 January 1997 .......................................................... 7 April 1996 ............................................................ 9 Agricultural Services: Workers, Average Hours Worked, and Wages April 1997 ............................................................ 12 January 1997 .......................................................... 12 April 1996 ............................................................ 12 Other Labor Estimates U.S. Distribution of Workers .......................................... 11 Wage Rates by Type of Farm, by Region, State, 48 States ............... 10 Wage Rates by Economic Class of Farm, by Region, State, 48 States...... 10 Migrant Workers ....................................................... 12 Farm Labor Region Map ................................................... 13 Farm Labor Definitions .................................................. 14 Reliability of Farm Labor Estimates ..................................... 6 Revision Policy ......................................................... 16 The next "Farm Labor" report will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET on August 15, 1997. 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