Farm Workers Being Paid Higher Wages This Year

By CnAgri Print

There were 906,000 workers hired directly by farm operators on the nation's farms and ranches during July 8-14, up nearly 9 percent from a year earlier. The USDA says workers hired directly by farm operators totaled 872,000 for the reference week of October 7-13, up more than 5 percent from the October 2011 reference week.

Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage of $11.36 per hour during the July 2012 reference week, up nearly 4 percent from a year earlier. Field workers received an average of $10.71 per hour, up more than 4 percent, while livestock workers earned $10.89 per hour compared with $10.29 a year earlier. The field and livestock worker combined wage rate, at $10.75 per hour, was up 47 cents from last year. The number of hours worked averaged 40.4 for hired workers during the reference week, down a little over 2 percent from July 2011.

Meanwhile, farmers paid their hired workers an average wage of $11.76 per hour during the October 2012 reference week, up over 5 percent from a year earlier. Field workers received an average of $11.22 per hour, up over 6 percent from a year earlier. Livestock workers earned $10.83, up 16 cents. The field and livestock worker combined wage rate, at $11.13 per hour, was up 56 cents from a year earlier. The number of hours worked averaged 41.5 for hired workers during the reference week, nearly the same as hours worked in October 2011.