Sp Sy 8 (5-99) Farm Labor National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released May 21, 1999, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Farm Labor" call Steve Logan at 202-690-3228, office hours 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. Hired Workers Down 1 Percent, Wage Rates Up 5 Percent From a Year Ago There were 998,000 hired workers on the Nation's farms and ranches the week of April11-17,1999, down 1 percent from a year ago. There were 844,000 workers hired directly by farm operators. Agricultural service employees on farms and ranches made up the remaining 154,000 workers. Migrant workers accounted for 8.7 percent of the April hired workforce compared to 6.6 percent last year. Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage rate of $7.84 per hour during the April 1999 survey week, up 35 cents from a year earlier. Field workers received an average of $7.23 per hour, up 23 cents from last April. Livestock workers earned $7.36 per hour compared with $6.99 a year earlier. The Field and Livestock worker combined wage rate was up 26 cents from last year. Number of hours worked averaged 39.4 hours for hired workers during the survey week compared with 40.0 hours a year ago. The largest increases in number of hired farm workers over last year occurred in California, Northeast II (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) , and Appalachian I (North Carolina and Virginia) regions. In California, field activities were delayed earlier in the week. However, by midweek, above normal temperatures and dry conditions prevailed in most areas allowing fieldwork to resume at an active pace. Growers in the Northeast II and Appalachian I regions were active and remained on schedule for field preparation and planting. Farmers were busy plowing, discing, spreading lime and manure, spraying, seeding, transplanting, and caring for livestock during the survey week. Additional nursery and greenhouse activity contributed to the overall increase in the Northeast II and Appalachian I regions over last year. The largest declines in number of hired farm workers from a year ago were in the Corn Belt II (Iowa and Missouri) and Northern Plains (North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas) regions. Saturated field conditions sharply reduced tillage and planting activities in the Corn BeltII region during the survey reference week. In the Northern Plains region, moderate to heavy rain- fall slowed field activity in most areas. Producers were limited to repairing equipment, fixing fences, hauling grain, moving cattle to summer pastures, spreading fertilizer, and some small grains seeding where weather allowed. Hired farm worker wage rates in all regions were above a year ago. The largest increases occurred in the Northeast I (New England and New York), Southeast (Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina), Mountain II (Colorado, Nevada, and Utah), and Mountain III (Arizona and New Mexico) regions. Higher wage rates in these regions were primarily attributable to offering higher wages to attract workersin an increasingly competitive economic environment. Revisions: The January 1999 hired workers estimates were revised for the U.S. and California. These revisions were based on additional information received in California as part of the on going Federal, State cooperative program. Farm Labor: Employment and Wage Rates, United States, April 11-17, 1999, with Comparisons 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 12-18, : January 10-16, : April 11-17, Farm Employment : 1998 : 1999 : 1999 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 : Hired Workers : 803 *705 844 Expected to be Employed : 150 Days or More : 618 *568 657 149 Days or Less : 185 *137 187 : Agricultural Services : Workers Working on Farms : 202 *157 154 : Hired Farm & Service Workers : 1,005 *862 998 : : : Percent : Migrant Workers Percent of : Hired Farm & Service Workers: 6.6 *6.0 8.7 : : : Hours per Week : Hours Worked : Hired : 40.0 *38.1 39.4 : : : Dollars per Hour : Wage Rates for : All Hired Workers 2/ 3/ : 7.49 *7.94 7.84 : Type of Worker : Field & Livestock Combined : 7.00 *7.25 7.26 Field : 7.00 *7.23 7.23 Livestock : 6.99 7.31 7.36 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. 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 11-17, 1999 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 30 10 38.0 Northeast II : 37 30 7 42.6 : Appalachian I : 30 21 9 37.4 Appalachian II : 29 18 11 32.0 : Southeast : 31 19 12 41.3 FL : 54 46 8 41.0 : Lake : 55 39 16 37.8 : Cornbelt I : 42 30 12 33.2 Cornbelt II : 24 19 5 37.0 : Delta : 32 26 6 40.9 : Northern Plains : 29 24 5 39.5 : Southern Plains : 51 37 14 36.1 : Mountain I : 22 15 7 50.0 Mountain II : 18 15 3 41.3 Mountain III : 20 17 3 44.1 : Pacific : 58 36 22 39.1 CA : 265 229 36 40.4 : HI : 7 6 1 37.3 : US 3/ : 844 657 187 39.4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 11-17, 1999 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 : 8.18 7.34 7.92 8.34 Northeast II : 7.73 6.05 7.20 7.73 : Appalachian I : 7.17 7.02 7.14 7.50 Appalachian II : 6.17 6.63 6.39 6.72 : Southeast : 6.61 7.52 6.79 7.09 FL : 7.40 6.90 7.37 8.18 : Lake : 7.95 7.03 7.54 8.09 : Cornbelt I : 7.71 7.47 7.66 8.35 Cornbelt II : 7.02 8.54 8.07 8.27 : Delta : 6.41 7.28 6.59 6.81 : Northern Plains : 7.82 7.00 7.41 7.66 : Southern Plains : 6.41 6.66 6.51 7.18 : Mountain I : 6.54 6.53 6.54 6.71 Mountain II : 7.58 7.67 7.63 8.08 Mountain III : 6.77 7.58 6.96 7.65 : Pacific : 7.25 9.98 7.49 8.02 CA : 7.22 8.34 7.32 8.06 : HI 4/ : 9.45 9.38 10.93 : US 3/ : 7.23 7.36 7.26 7.84 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 13. 3/ Excludes AK. 4/ Insufficient data for livestock. Hired Workers: Number and Hours Worked by Region and United States, January 10-16, 1999 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 : 30 25 5 37.5 Northeast II : 25 22 3 38.3 : Appalachian I : 26 20 6 34.9 Appalachian II : 22 10 12 27.8 : Southeast : 28 21 7 34.4 FL : 55 48 7 *39.1 : Lake : 42 37 5 34.9 : Cornbelt I : 29 25 4 35.6 Cornbelt II : 16 13 3 29.9 : Delta : 24 19 5 32.6 : Northern Plains : 23 18 5 35.5 : Southern Plains : 48 39 9 38.4 : Mountain I : 14 12 2 37.4 Mountain II : 15 14 1 42.7 Mountain III : 16 15 1 43.4 : Pacific : 45 33 12 37.1 CA : *240 *191 *49 *41.6 : HI : 7 6 1 36.7 : US 3/ : *705 *568 *137 *38.1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. 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 10-16, 1999 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 : 8.08 6.61 7.20 7.75 Northeast II : 7.79 6.13 6.99 8.01 : Appalachian I : 7.14 7.47 7.25 7.76 Appalachian II : 5.60 7.39 6.39 6.89 : Southeast : 6.84 6.84 6.84 7.18 FL : 7.35 7.00 7.32 *8.31 : Lake : 8.43 7.33 7.59 8.48 : Cornbelt I : 8.01 7.82 7.89 8.46 Cornbelt II : 7.36 7.35 7.35 7.86 : Delta : 6.99 6.35 6.68 7.20 : Northern Plains : 7.83 7.56 7.62 8.10 : Southern Plains : 6.49 6.58 6.53 6.93 : Mountain I : 7.36 7.35 7.35 7.80 Mountain II : 7.29 7.36 7.33 8.41 Mountain III : 6.66 7.06 6.75 7.18 : Pacific : 7.80 8.93 7.96 8.70 CA : *7.13 8.40 *7.26 *7.97 : HI 4/ : 9.38 9.35 10.80 : US 3/ : *7.23 7.31 *7.25 *7.94 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 13. 3/ Excludes AK. 4/ Insufficient data for livestock. Hired Workers: Number and Hours Worked by Region and United States, April 12-18, 1998 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 : 37 26 11 37.6 Northeast II : 29 21 8 39.3 : Appalachian I : 26 18 8 38.1 Appalachian II : 28 20 8 32.9 : Southeast : 35 26 9 40.9 FL : 57 43 14 *39.7 : Lake : 59 46 13 33.7 : Cornbelt I : 47 37 10 37.8 Cornbelt II : 32 27 5 37.3 : Delta : 31 27 4 46.6 : Northern Plains : 41 36 5 43.1 : Southern Plains : 58 47 11 39.7 : Mountain I : 20 16 4 46.8 Mountain II : 19 14 5 40.1 Mountain III : 19 15 4 42.5 : Pacific : 64 46 18 39.1 CA : 194 147 47 42.7 : HI : 7 6 1 35.2 : US 3/ : 803 618 185 40.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised 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 12-18, 1998 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 : 8.01 6.09 7.29 7.55 Northeast II : 7.05 6.29 6.88 7.44 : Appalachian I : 6.51 6.96 6.65 7.02 Appalachian II : 6.47 6.09 6.35 6.53 : Southeast : 6.20 6.26 6.21 6.48 FL : 6.75 7.20 6.78 7.57 : Lake : 7.39 7.43 7.41 8.06 : Cornbelt I : 7.39 8.13 7.62 8.14 Cornbelt II : 7.49 7.23 7.37 7.64 : Delta : 5.87 6.74 6.04 6.30 : Northern Plains : 7.55 6.62 7.15 7.63 : Southern Plains : 6.20 6.29 6.25 6.72 : Mountain I : 6.51 5.92 6.21 6.46 Mountain II : 6.80 7.14 6.97 7.43 Mountain III : 6.32 6.52 6.36 7.02 : Pacific : 7.00 8.49 7.21 7.89 CA : 7.30 8.08 7.39 7.87 : HI 4/ : 9.06 8.95 10.43 : US 3/ : 7.00 6.99 7.00 7.49 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 13. 3/ Excludes AK. 4/ Insufficient data for livestock. Field and Livestock Workers Combined: Wage Rates, by Type of Farm, by Region and 48 States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 12-18, 1998 : April 11-17, 1999 :--------------------------------------------------------------- Region 2/ : Field : Other :L'stk &: All : Field : Other :L'stk &: All : Crops : Crops :Poultry: Farms : Crops : Crops :Poultry: Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : Northeast : 8.13 7.43 5.75 6.79 8.36 8.06 5.98 7.23 Appalachian : 5.81 6.96 6.77 6.53 6.12 7.34 6.66 6.80 Southeast : 5.57 6.78 6.62 6.61 6.29 7.17 7.30 7.09 Lake : 7.48 7.16 7.58 7.41 8.13 7.92 6.94 7.54 Cornbelt : 7.42 7.17 7.93 7.54 7.62 7.04 8.07 7.73 Delta : 5.73 6.14 6.92 6.04 6.54 6.00 7.12 6.59 Northern Plains : 7.59 8.01 6.65 7.15 7.78 7.71 7.09 7.41 Southern Plains : 5.82 5.61 6.78 6.25 6.22 6.45 6.68 6.51 Mountain : 6.87 6.31 6.58 6.51 7.53 6.56 7.39 7.06 Pacific : 8.20 7.56 8.50 7.70 3/ 7.88 9.32 8.17 48 States : 6.60 7.02 7.19 7.00 7.27 7.23 7.32 7.26 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Hired Workers: Wage Rates, by Economic Class of Farm by Region and 48 States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 12-18, 1998 : April 11-17, 1999 Region :----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2/ : Gross Value Sales-$1000's : : Gross Value Sales-$1000's : :----------------------------: All :----------------------------: All : <40 :40-99 :100-249 :250+ :Farms : <40 :40-99 :100-249 : 250+ :Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : N. East : 6.85 6.72 7.21 7.76 7.47 3/ 5.60 7.56 8.44 8.03 Appal. : 5.79 6.68 6.70 7.27 6.84 5.93 6.96 6.70 7.49 7.15 S. East : 6.29 7.82 6.52 7.22 7.15 3/ 8.23 6.85 7.83 7.78 Lake : 7.35 6.53 7.15 7.37 8.06 6.60 3/ 6.53 8.48 8.09 Cornbelt: 6.57 7.17 7.88 8.18 7.94 7.43 3/ 7.29 8.68 8.32 Delta : 7.83 6.24 5.67 6.39 6.30 3/ 6.25 6.34 7.03 6.81 N. Plain: 6.48 6.39 6.58 8.08 7.60 6.10 7.00 7.31 8.22 7.66 S. Plain: 6.13 4.78 5.95 7.30 6.72 6.84 3/ 7.58 7.14 7.18 Mountain: 5.63 7.36 6.80 7.11 6.94 3/ 6.50 6.31 7.45 7.39 Pacific : 7.97 7.35 7.59 7.90 7.87 7.83 8.21 7.70 8.08 8.05 48 State: 6.58 6.79 6.97 7.71 7.50 7.41 7.54 7.20 7.99 7.84 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/ Insufficient data. Field and Livestock Workers: Distribution by Type of Farm, 48 States 1/ 2/ 3/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type of : April 12-18, : January 10-16, : April 11-17, Farm : 1998 : 1999 : 1999 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Field and Livestock Workers : Field Crops : 14 9 12 Other Crops : 55 60 62 Livestock, Dairy, : & Poultry : 31 31 26 : 100.0 100.0 100.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hired Workers: Distribution by Economic Class of Farm, 48 States 1/ 3/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gross Value : April 12-18, : January 10-16, : April 11-17, of Sales : 1998 : 1999 : 1999 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Hired Workers : Less than $40,000 : 9 10 7 $40,000-$99,999 : 7 *8 7 $100,000-$249,999 : 14 13 14 $250,000 and over : 70 *69 72 : 100.0 100.0 100.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hired Workers: Distribution by Category, United States, 1/ 3/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 12-18, : January 10-16, : April 11-17, : 1998 : 1999 : 1999 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Hired Workers Employed on Farms Hiring : 1 Worker : 14 13 11 2 Workers : 8 *9 9 3-6 Workers : 20 18 16 7-10 Workers : 8 8 9 At least 11 Workers : 50 *52 55 : 100.0 100.0 100.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. 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 154,000 workers for the Nation's farms and ranches during the week of April 11-17, 1999. Service workers in California numbered xx,000 this April compared with 76,000 last year. Florida's number of service workers was 65,000, compared to 13,000 last year. The average wage received by agricultural service workers in California and Florida were $7.33 and $8.30 per hour, respectively. Comparable wages in April 1998 were $7.89 in California and $8.40 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 : 1998 : 1999 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 : 1999 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------- 1,000 ------- ------- Hours ------ Dollars per Hour : CA : 76.0 *67.0 65.0 35.7 *37.4 36.1 7.89 *7.98 7.33 FL : 13.0 12.0 9.0 40.0 35.0 38.0 8.40 8.50 8.30 : US : 202.0 *157.0 154.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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), 1996-99 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year : Jan : Apr : Jul : Oct -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : 1996 2/ : 5.7 7.5 13.1 11.1 1997 : 9.5 6.3 10.8 11.2 1998 : 7.3 6.6 13.7 11.0 1999 : *6.0 8.7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. 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 opera- tions. 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: Service on a contract or fee basis such as veterinarian work, artificial insemination, sheep shearing, milk testing, etc., performed on the farm or ranch. Contract Labor: Contract workers are paid by a crew leader, contractor, buyer, processor, cooperative, or other person who has an oral or written agreement with a farmer/rancher. Pruning, thinning, weeding or harvesting of fruit, vegetable or berry crops are examples. A machine is not a part of the service activity provided by the contractor. Custom Work: Work performed by machines and labor hired as a unit. Hay baling, combining, corn or cotton picking, spraying,fertilizing, laser leveling are examples of custom work when the equipment is included in theservice activity. 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, 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 (NASS) 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 an area sampling frame. 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 NASS list of farms; those not found on the list are included in the labor survey sample to represent all farms. 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 11-17, 1999. 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 hired workers at the U.S. level was 5.2 percent. The relative sampling error for the number of hired workers generally ranged between 9 and 20 percent at the regional level. The U.S. all hired farm worker wage rate had a relative sampling error of .9 percent. The relative sampling error was .9 percent for the combined field and livestock worker wage rate. Relative sampling errors for the all hired farm worker wage rate generally ranged between 2 and 6 percent at the regional levels. Relative sampling errors for wage rates published by type of farm and economic class of farm ranged between 3 and 14 percent at the regional level. Nonsampling errors can occur in a complete census 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 editing, 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 1998 and January 1999 were subject to revision with this report. Revisions were made and previous data are reprinted in this report for your information. The August 20th report will have information for the survey week of April 11-17, 1999. The report will include the number of All Hired Workers, Average Hours Worked by Hired Workers and the All Hired Worker Wage Rates at the regional and U.S. levels. The wage rate for field, livestock, and combined field and livestock workers will be available for the regional and U.S. level. The number of Agricultural Service Workers and the corresponding wage rates will be published for California and Florida. 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 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 January 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 April 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Wage Rates by Region and U.S. April 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 January 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 April 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Agricultural Services: Workers, Average Hours Worked, and Wages April 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 January 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 April 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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 States10 Migrant Workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Farm Labor Region Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Farm Labor Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Reliability of Farm Labor Estimates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Revision Policy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 The next "Farm Labor" report will be released at 3 p.m. ET on August 20, 1999. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C., 20250-9410, or call 202-720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. ACCESS TO REPORTS!! For your convenience, there are several ways to obtain NASS reports, data products, and services: INTERNET ACCESS All NASS reports are available free of charge on the worldwide Internet. 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