About the Report

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The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) is an employment-based, random-sample survey of U.S. crop workers that collects demographic, employment, and health data in face-to-face interviews. The survey began in Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 1989; since then over 66,000 workers have been interviewed. The primary purposes of the NAWS are to monitor the terms and conditions of agricultural employment and assess the conditions of farmworkers. The survey also generates information for various Federal agencies that oversee farmworker programs.

The report is the thirteenth in a series of DOL publications on the demographic and employment characteristics of hired agricultural workers in the United States (U.S.). It examines recent information on the demographics and employment characteristics of those who perform U.S. crop work. The primary focus of this report is the presentation of findings for the period covering fiscal years (FY) 2015 and 2016. These findings are based on data collected from face-to-face interviews with 5,342 crop farmworkers through the NAWS between October 1, 2014 and September 30, 2016. This report’s nine chapters summarize national-level findings on key characteristics, including place of birth and legal status; education and language skills; housing and transportation; job characteristics and employment experience; income and assets; and access to health care.

Key Takeaways

• The NAWS continues to find that the majority of hired crop workers are foreign-born.
• The NAWS portrays a crop labor force that is aging and settling in one place with families that include U.S.-born children.
• Crop workers were employed, on average, 33 weeks in farm jobs in the previous 12 months.
• The NAWS also portrays a stabilizing farm labor market that is characterized by tightening foreign labor supply and an experienced labor force that largely intends to continue working in agriculture.

Citation

Hernandez, T., Gabbard, S. (2018). JBS International. Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) 2015-2016: A Demographic and Employment Profile of United States Farmworkers. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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This study was sponsored by the Employment and Training Administration, Office of Policy Development and Research, Division of Research and Evaluation, and was produced outside of CEO’s standard research development process.