Changing Crop Worker Characteristics: Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey, 1989-2014 NAWS at 30 April 12, 2018 Daniel Carroll and Susan Gabbard Davis, California Disclaimer: Views are solely those of the presenter
Overview Who are California crop workers? How do California and US crop worker characteristics differ? How have these populations changed in the last 25 years?
National Agricultural Workers Survey National survey of crop workers, started Fiscal Year 1989 Annual random sample survey of 1,500-3,000 workers Establishment survey find workers at work Leading source of reliable information on crop worker demographics Limited regional coverage and no local numbers H-2A workers excluded
NAWS Data Caveats This presentation is based on Federal Fiscal Year data from 1989 through 2014, which is available for download from the NAWS Web page: https://www.doleta.gov/naws/ The data are grouped in multi-year intervals to get a large enough sample to make comparisons. Some of the estimates should be interpreted with caution because they have relative standard errors between 31 and 50 percent. Such values are identified with a superscript a.
California Migrant Crop Workers Fewer crop workers migrated either within the US or across international borders on an annual basis. Newcomers to crop work who were born abroad declined from: 29 percent in 2000 to One percent in 2014
International Migrants Crossing the US-Mexico Border to Work in California Map Source: http://travel.state.gov/content/dam/tsg-global/country-maps/mx-map.gif Data Source: National Agricultural Workers Survey s TES orro Ae ondo NORTH 46 % 2000 7% 2014 ult o XICO PACIFIC OCE N Cancun 0 200 0 n,110 00.. Acapu co o aca Sal a Cruz
Foreign-born Newcomers 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 4% 2% 4% 1% 89-91 92-94 95-97 98-00 01-03 04-06 07-09 10-12 13-14 California National
Migrants 80% 60% 43% 40% 41% 20% 16% 14% 0% 89-91 92-94 95-97 98-00 01-03 04-06 07-09 10-12 13-14 California National
Place of Birth National California 1989-1991 2013-2014 1989-1991 2013-2014 7% 85% 9% 89% 40% 54% 2% 28% 67% 4% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% US/Puerto Rico Mexico Central America Other
Crop Worker Gender The farm labor force in California is mostly male for both FLCs (73% male, 27% female) and growers (74% male, 26% female). Between 2000 and 2014, the gender composition of FLCemployed crop workers remained nearly the same while the female share of directly-hired workers increased by 6 percentage points(from 20% to 26%).
Age From 1989 to 2014, the crop labor force became older. Average age of workers in California increased from 34 in 1989-1990 to 39 in 2013-2014. Nationally, the average age of workers increased from 33 in 1989-1990 to 38 in 2013-2014.
English Language Proficiency National California 1989-1991 1998-2000 2013-2014 1989-1991 1998-2000 2013-2014 11% 9% 38% 43% 5% 5% 30% 60% 14% 12% 34% 40% 23% 9% 32% 35% 18% 7% 27% 48% 32% 11% 31% 26% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Well Somewhat A little Not at all
Family Composition Between 2000 and 2014: The share of crop workers who were single and without children decreased 16 percentage points nationally (43% to 27%) and 19 percentage points in California (41% to 22%). The share of crop workers with children increased 10 percentage points nationally (47% to 57%) and 14 percentage points in California (49% to 63%).
Has Children Under Age 18 80% 60% 40% 20% 33% 26% 49% 42% 0% 89-91 92-94 95-97 98-00 01-03 04-06 07-09 10-12 13-14 California National
Family Togetherness and Separation In 2014: About two thirds of California crop workers lived with nuclear family members. About one in ten had a spouse or children but lived away from them. The remainder were single workers. Between 2000 and 2014, the percent of California workers living with nuclear family members increased: from 32 percent to 62 percent for FLC workers and from 42 percent to 71 percent for grower-hired workers
Families Receiving Public Assistance 80% 60% 40% 52% 48% 20% 0% 19% 15% 89-91 92-94 95-97 98-00 01-03 04-06 07-09 10-12 13-14 California National
Weeks of Farm Work the Previous Year 50 40 30 20 31 28 36 35 10 0 89-91 92-94 95-97 98-00 01-03 04-06 07-09 10-12 13-14 California National
Hourly Wage Fiscal Years 1989-1991 1992-1994 1995-1997 1998-2000 2001-2003 2004-2006 2007-2009 2010-2012 2013-2014 California $5.53 $5.64 $5.69 $6.54 $7.50 $7.85 $9.00 $9.14 $10.09 National $5.25 $5.48 $5.69 $6.52 $7.39 $8.01 $9.14 $9.38 $10.18
Average Family Income Range Fiscal Years California National 1989-1991 $10,000-$12,499 $10,000-$12,499 1992-1994 $10,000-$12,499 $10,000-$12,499 1995-1997 $7,500-$9,999 $10,000-$12,499 1998-2000 $10,000-$12,499 $10,000-$12,499 2001-2003 $15,000-$17,499 $15,000-$17,499 2004-2006 $15,000-$17,499 $15,000-$17,499 2007-2009 $17,500-$19,999 $17,500-$19,999 2010-2012 $17,500-$19,999 $17,500-$19,999 2013-2014 $20,000-$24,999 $20,000-$24,999
80% Employed By Farm Labor Contractor 60% 40% 20% 27% 16% 34% 15% 0% 89-91 92-94 95-97 98-00 01-03 04-06 07-09 10-12 13-14 California National
Years of US Farm Work Experience 25 20 15 10 11 10 16 14 5 0 89-91 92-94 95-97 98-00 01-03 04-06 07-09 10-12 13-14 California National
Held a Non-Farm Job the Previous Year 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 31% 16% 25% 17% 0% 89-91 92-94 95-97 98-00 01-03 04-06 07-09 10-12 13-14 California National
Primary Crop At Current Farm Job California: California: National: National: Crop 1989-1991 2013-2014 Difference 1989-1991 2013-2014 Difference Field 9% 3% a -6% 12% 13% +1% Fruit/Nut 55% 63% +8% 28% 40% +12% Horticulture 7% 7% 0% 18% 23% +5% Vegetable 27% 26% -1% 35% 21% -14% Miscellaneous 2% <1% a -1% 6% 3% -3%
Primary Task At Current Farm Job California: California: National: National: Task 1989-1991 2013-2014 Difference 1989-1991 2013-2014 Difference Pre-harvest 10% 22% +12% 20% 26% +6% Harvest 47% 27% -20% 41% 23% -18% Post-harvest 9% 14% +5% 13% 18% +5% Semi-skilled 29% 37% +8% 18% 33% +15% Other 3% 0% -3% 7% 0% -7%
Plans To Continue Working in Agriculture National California 1989-1991 19% 79% 2% 1998-2000 23% 67% 10% 2013-2014 16% 82% 2% 1989-1991 27% 69% 4% 1998-2000 30% 61% 9% 2013-2014 19% 78% 3% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 5 years or less More than 5 years/as long as I am able Other
How Legal Status was Obtained National California 1989-1991 2013-2014 1989-1991 2013-2014 11% 55% 7% 13% 14% 9% 16% 18% 1% 56% 44% 32% 3% 6% 14% 28% 12% 14% 1% 46% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% US Citizen Legalization applicant Family program Other work authorization Unauthorized
Housing In California, 93 percent of crop workers lived off-farm in 2014, up from 91 percent in 2000. Nationally, 85 percent of crop workers lived off-farm in 2014, up from 80 percent in 2000.
Summary This presentation identified important changes in the demographic and employment characteristics of crop workers. Between 1989 and 2014, the crop labor force: Became more settled, with the share of California workers who were migrant decreasing 29 percentage points and the share nationally decreasing 25 percentage points; Aged. The average age in California increased from 34 to 39 and nationally from 33 to 38; and Became more experienced, with the average number of years doing US farm work increasing from 11 to 16 years in California and 10 to 14 years nationally, and the average number of years working for the current farm employer increasing by two years (from 5 to 7 for both California and nationally). Between 2000 and 2014, the crop labor force: Became increasingly comprised of farm workers with children (from 49% o 63% in California and 47% to 57% nationally); and Saw a substantial decline in the share of crop workers who were foreign-born newcomers, who now comprise just two percent of California and one percent of US crop workers.
The End Contact information: Daniel Carroll carroll.daniel.j@dol.gov Susan Gabbard sgabbard@jbsinternational.com