The Florida Farm Labor Market Lurleen M. Walters, Robert D. Emerson, Nobuyuki Iwai & Jamille Palacios International Agricultural Trade & Policy Center Food & Resource Economics Department University of Florida Immigration Reform & Agriculture Conference Washington D.C., June 13-14, 2007
Presentation Structure Labor intensity among FL farms Farm workforce & labor market characteristics Florida vs. US, NAWS 1989-2004 Emerging issues in Florida labor market Recent farm labor research with legal status focus by IATPC @ UF Farm workers choices on legal status and farm employment (skilled/unskilled) Employment duration & legal status 2
Florida Agricultural Labor Expenditures Shifts in expenditure patterns by farm types between 1978 & 2002 (Census of Agriculture) Greenhouse, Nursery & Floriculture Farms: +19% Fruit & Nut Farms: -9% Vegetable & Melon Farms: -4% Other Crops & Livestock Farms: -6% 2002 FL labor expenditures: 33% of total farm production expenses Hired & contract labor expenses as % of 2002 production expenditure 24% & 9% relative to 11% & 2% for U.S. agricultural sector 3
Farm Worker Characteristics, NAWS (1989-2004) Florida vs. US: Average age: 33 years vs. 34 years Nationality & Ethnicity Foreign-born: 82% vs. 73% Hispanic: 86% vs. 80% Predominately Mexican: 59% vs. 68% Central Americans: 16% vs. ~3% Language skills: Spanish as primary language: 79% vs. 75% Cannot speak English at all : 47% vs. 41% 4
Labor Market Characteristics, NAWS (1989-2004) Workforce Composition by Legal Status, Employer Type: FL workforce: 50% unauthorized, 50% authorized FL farm workers: 76% hired by growers, 47% unauthorized 24% hired by contractors, 67% unauthorized Vs US workforce: 42% of all workers unauthorized, 58% authorized U.S. farm workers : 80% hired directly by growers, 37% unauthorized 20% hired by contractors, 57% unauthorized 5
Farm Labor Market Characteristics (cont d) Participation of unauthorized workers more pronounced in FL workforce >55%, all employer types esp. between 1999 and 2004 Significant portion of FL harvest workforce unauthorized 65% (FL) vs. 50% (US) 6
Farm Labor Market Characteristics (cont d) Compensation methods: Majority of workers paid an hourly wage 65% (FL), 77% (U.S) Piece rate paid to significant portion of harvest crews 70% (FL), 42% (U.S.) Hourly wages generally higher for workers directly hired by growers, regardless of legal status, task type, or seasonal/year-round contract FL: growers ($6.56) vs. contractors ($5.83) US: growers ($7.01) vs. contractors ($6.50) 7
Florida Worker Earnings, NAWS* Legal Status 1989-98 1999-2001 2002-2004 All Workers $7.12 $7.26 $8.13 Authorized 7.40 7.48 9.50 Unauthorize d 6.83 7.03 6.76 *Converted to 2004 dollars with the CPI for all urban households 8
Florida Worker Earnings, NAWS* Employer Type 1989-98 1999-2001 2002-2004 Growers $7.11 $7.04 $7.07 Labor Contractors 7.18 7.66 8.90 *Converted to 2004 dollars with the CPI for all urban households 9
Emerging Issues in the Florida Labor Market Third Party Labor Agreements in FL tomato industry Tomato buyers & the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) Typical rate = $0.40/32lb bucket Penny per pound proposal signatories to date: Taco Bell, 2005 Yum! Brands, 2007 ~70% increase in piece rate affects ~5% of industry McDonald s, April 2007 Proposed expansion to other retail buyers Burger King, Subway? 10 Recent developments possible legal challenges
Current Research by IATPC @ UF Legal status, job type (unskilled/skilled) & wages: Do foreign born farm workers select into US farm employment on account of legal status and job type? Why the focus on job type (per skill level)? Results suggest an interrelated (joint) decision Characteristics increasing probability that workers are unauthorized & unskilled for US farm work: Limited/no English, few years of schooling, limited/ no experience in US/foreign farm work, single 11 status, employment w/growers, compensation by piece rate
Current Research by IATPC @ UF Key findings: Foreign-born individuals who choose to do skilled farm work in an unauthorized status earn less than their cohorts penalty Legal status matters Workers selecting into employment with authorized status earn more regardless of skill level Paradox poor predictions (per skill equation) but reasonable wage results; work in progress! 12
Current Research by IATPC @ UF Legal status and employment duration: What effect does legalization of unauthorized workers have on employment duration? Key findings: Unauthorized workers acquisition of legal status positively affects employment duration Simulations generally show that adjustment of unauthorized workers to legal status would result in modest increases in farm work duration 13
Current Research by IATPC @ UF Simulation results by distinct periods Pre-2001 (increases in 16/16 cases) Only 4 cases show increased employment duration (>5%) for unskilled, seasonal workers employed with growers Post-2001 (increases in 11/16 cases) 5 cases show decreased employment duration (1.1% max) for workers employed with labor contractors Magnitude Very small increases, esp. after 2001 14
Summary Large proportion of unauthorized workers in FL farm labor market; has increased over time (NAWS) Among all employer types Employed mostly in pre-harvest, harvest work Authorized workers paid higher real wages than unauthorized workers Future of 3 rd party labor agreements? Further research by IATPC: Effect of proposed expansion to other retail buyers Effect on workers outside the agreements IATPC research suggests legal status matters w/ respect to job type (skill level), wages & employment duration 15