Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Farmworker Country of Origin Trends

The share of hired crop farmworkers who were born in the United States or Puerto Rico fell from about 40 percent in 1989-91 to a low of about 18 percent in 1998-2000, while the share born in Mexico rose from 54 percent to 79 percent over the same interval. Since then, the U.S. and Puerto Rico share has rebounded to about 29 percent and the Mexico share has fallen to about 68 percent. The share from Central America and other countries has never exceeded 6 percent.

Since 2000, however, Hispanic workers have also been employed in increasing numbers in the dairy industry (not covered by NAWS). One study found that 75 percent of Hispanic dairy workers in New York State were from Mexico, 24 percent were from Guatemala, and one percent were from Honduras.

source: usda