The Department of Agriculture eliminates from its figures, children under 14, residents of Puerto Rico, foreign nationals, and persons who do not cross a county line in the course of looking for work. Clearly each of these excluded groups is represented in the Hired Farm Working Force, and the migrant working force at that. Less demonstrably (in the very nature of the case) but equally clearly, the migrant worker like all other segments of the poverty population, tends to be undercounted even by the careful professionals of the Census Bureau.. Thus, the figure of 196,000 migratory workers for 1970, while probably correct within USDA's definitions, is, at best, a rock-bottom figure. At the same time, it is not possible to arrive at a simple multiplier factor, or to simply accept instead the figures of other agencies. The different figures tend to represent a use of the word "migrant", less to reflect the worker's travel status than to indicate his socio-economic situation. In the case of some of the agencies involved, a more precise linkage of the word "migrant" to actual movement would tend to render their programs nugatory. How, we may ask, would a migrant education program be of assistance to children who were only eligible for it while they were actually on the road with their parents? The same problem would arise if Manpower Administration "settlingout" programs were to lose their authority the moment a season opened and the previously migratory worker didn't hit the road. Among the public, too, the word "migrant" has become associated with a whole complex of economic and social deprivations, and tends to mean a group of people whose condition is exemplified by the migrant-whether they have settled out into stationary misery, or continue to take it along the Interstate with them. A further legitimate question to which none of the agency figures reported here address themselves is just how deep are the roots put down by the settledout farm worker. Will he stay out of the stream? Has he moved out of agriculture? Will he stay out of agriculture? Or will the continuing unemployment crisis or changes in the availability of social and economic benefits mean that sooner or later he will start moving again? Is the fact of migration inherently and unalterably an economic drawback to the migrant? To the question of how many migrants there are, as to these other questions, your staff respectfully submits its inability to respond. 66-977 0-71- -11 ABSTRACT The Hired Farm Working Force of 1969 (HFWF) consisted of about 2.6 million persons 14 years of age and over who did some farmwork for cash wages during the year. This drop of 12 percent from the 2.9 million in 1968 reflects further utilization of farm labor-saving technology. Members of the 1969 HFWF were mostly young (median age 23), white (77 percent), male (74 percent), persons living in nonfarm places (74 percent). They earned an average of $837 in cash wages, or $10.75 a day for 78 days of farm wagework. Only 21 percent were engaged chiefly in farm wagework. Of these, 301,000 were year-round workers, who were the most fully employed and highest paid, averaging 319 days of farm wagework and earning $3,485. About 60 percent (primarily housewives and students) were not in the labor force most of the year. About 257,000 were domestic migratory workers. This group declined at about the same rate as all hired farmworkers, thus continuing to comprise about 10 percent of the total. Key Words: hired farmworkers, farm labor, casual workers, noncasual workers, migratory workers, seasonal workers, regular workers, year-round workers, employment, earnings. This report is the latest in the ERS series relating to persons who do work on farms for cash wages. Marvin M. Thompson and Robert W. Mangold of the Demographic Surveys Division, Bureau of the Census, cooperated in planning the survey, and supervised field operations and the tabulation of data. Helen Yuter, Manpower Group, ERS, assisted in the preparation of the statistical tables. CONTENTS Page Introduction.. Size of the 1969 Hired Farm Working Force. Recent Trends in Numbers of Hired Farmworkers.. Composition and Residence of the 1969 Hired Farm Working Force. ..... Average Number of Days of Farm Wagework and Related Earnings. 112235 6 7 24 28 April 1970 This report presents information on the size and composition of the 1969 hired farm working force (HFWF) and on the employment and cash earnings from farm and nonfarm wagework obtained during the year. Brief highlights point up some of the most pertinent facts from the detailed data in the statistical tables. The data were obtained from the annual survey conducted for the Economic Research Service by the Bureau of the Census as a supplementary part of the regular Current Population Survey made in December 1969. Estimates in this report are based on sample data; thus, they are subject to sampling variability. They may differ somewhat from the results that would have been obtained from another sample, or from a complete census using the same schedules, instructions, and interviewers. The survey coverage and reliability of the estimates are discussed in appendix A. Definitions or explanations of terms used in this report are given in appendix B. SIZE OF THE 1969 HIRED FARM WORKING FORCE (table 1) About 2.6 million different persons did some work on farms for cash wages or salary in 1969. (Excluded are persons not in the civilian noninstitutional population 14 years old and over at the time of the survey.) This represents a decrease of about 11.9 percent from the estimated 2.9 million hired farmworkers in 1968 and reflects further use of mechanization and other farm laborsaving technology, as record high production of both crops and livestock continued. Casual workers (those who did less than 25 days of farm wagework) numbered about 1.1 million, about 193,000 less than in 1968. Noncasual workers (those who did 25 days or more of farm wagework) numbered around 1.5 million, about 154,000 less than in 1968. - 1 RECENT TRENDS IN NUMBERS OF HIRED FARMWORKERS (tables 2-3) Because of the sampling variability, averages based on data for several years probably reflect better than yearly estimates the recent trends in the total number of hired farmworkers and in important segments within the group.1/ Thus, using averages for the 3-year periods 1964-66 and 1967-69, it can be seen that: - The total number of different persons doing hired farmwork in the course of a year declined about 7.5 percent. The number of workers doing between 75 and 249 days of hired farmwork declined about 18 percent. Workers doing less than 75 days of work declined about 4.5 percent, and workers who did 250 or more days of work declined by only about 5.5 percent. Total man-days of farm wagework declined about 10.1 percent. COMPOSITION AND RESIDENCE OF THE 1969 HIRED FARM WORKING FORCE (table 4) The 1969 HFWF was similar in composition to that of the previous year. Among these workers in 1969: - - - Only 21 percent were engaged chiefly in farm wagework. 60 percent (primarily housewives and students) were not in the labor force most of the year. The median age was 23 years. 35 percent were young people 14-17 years of age; over three-fourths (77 percent) of these youths were boys. About 10 percent did some farm wagework outside their home counties. These, considered domestic migratory workers, were the same proportion as the 10 percent of the total they comprised in 1968. 74 percent lived in nonfarm places at the time of the survey, although some of them lived on farms at some time during the year. Figure 1 shows 1/ See appendix A for a discussion of the sample and reliability of estimates. |