Illustration of the use of the tables of standard errors.--Table 4 of this report shows that 257,000 persons were migratory farm wageworkers. Table 14 shows the standard error on an estimate of this size to be approximately 29,000. The chances are 68 out of 100 that the estimate would have shown a figure differing from a complete census by less than 29,000. The chances are 95 out of 100 that the estimate would have shown a figure differing from a complete census by less than 58,000. Of these 257,000 migratory farm wageworkers, 70,000 or 27 percent are from the Southern Region. Table 15 shows the standard error of 27 percent on a base of 257,000 to be approximately 4.9 percent. Consequently, chances are 68 out of 100 that the estimated 27 percent would be within 4.9 percent of a complete census figure, and chances are 95 out of 100 that the estimate would be within 9.8 percent of a census figure, i.e., this 95 percent confidence interval would be from 17.2 to 36.8 percent. Table 7 of this report shows that average annual earnings at farm wagework for migratory farm wageworkers is $891. Table 17 shows the standard error of $891 on a base of 257,000 workers to be approximately $90. Consequently, ⚫ chances are 68 out of 100 that the estimated $891 would be within $90 of a complete census figure, and chances are 95 out of 100 that the estimate would be within $180 of a census figure, i.e., this 95 percent confidence interval would be from $711 to $1,071. APPENDIX B DEFINITIONS AND EXPLANATIONS Farm wageworkers.--Persons 14 years old and over in the civilian noninstitutional population of the United States at the time of the survey who did any farmwork for cash wages or salary at any time in the year, even if only for 1 day. Farmwork for cash wages or salary consists of the following: (1) Work done on any farm for cash wages in connection with the production, harvesting, threshing, preparation for market, or delivery to market of agricultural products; (2) work done off the farm for a farmer by his hired farmworker, such as trips to town to buy feed, seeds, or fertilizer, or to handle other matters involved in running the farm business; (3) repairs of farm buildings, machinery, etc., performed by a farm wageworker when done along with the type of work specified in (1) and (2) above; and (4) managing a farm enterprise for cash salary. Not included as farmwork for cash wages or salary are (1) work performed by farm operators on their own farms, or "exchange" work between farmers; (2) work done exclusively for "pay in kind"; (3) work done without pay on a family farm by a member of the farm operator's family (a small regular cash allowance is not considered as farm wages); and (4) nonfarm work performed on a farm, such as the building of a farm structure, the drilling of a well, the hauling of agricultural products to market by commercial truckers, or domestic service in the home of a farmer; and (5) custom work such as spraying, threshing, combining, etc., when a person is paid a combined rate for the use of his equipment and labor. Casual workers.--Persons who did less than 25 days of farm wagework. Noncasual workers.--Persons who did 25 days or more of farm wagework. Noncasual workers include: Seasonal workers.--Persons who did 25-149 days of farm wagework. Regular workers.--Persons who did 150-249 days of farm wagework. Year-round workers.--Persons who did 250 days or more of farm wagework. (The use here of the terms "seasonal" and "regular" differs from that in the Census of Agriculture, where "seasonal workers" refers to persons employed on one farm for less than 150 days during the year, and "regular workers" to those employed on one farm for 150 days or more during the year.) Age.--The age classification is based on the age of the person at his last birthday. Color.--The term "color" refers to the division of the population into two groups white and Negro and other races (including such groups as Indians, Japanese, and Chinese). Chief activity. --Information on the chief activity of farm wageworkers during the year was derived from the question, "What was doing most of 1969--working, keeping house, going to school, or something else?" If "working" was reported as the chief activity, the kind of work the person was doing most of the year was determined. Farm wagework was reported if the person spent most of his working time doing farm wagework. Operating a farm was reported if a person spent most of his working time operating his own farm (as a tenant, owner, or sharecropper). Nonfarm work was reported if a person spent most of his working time in his own business or profession, worked without pay in a family business, or worked for pay (or pay in kind) in any nonfarm activity, such as manufacturing, trade, construction, domestic service, etc. If the person did not report "working" as his chief activity, information was obtained on what he was doing most of the year. Looking for work (unemployed was reported for a person who spent most of his time without employment, but was actively looking for a job. Keeping house was reported for persons who spent most of their time doing their own housework. Going to school was reported for persons who spent most of their time during the year going to school. The category "other" was reported for persons who spent most of their time at some activity other than those named above. Residence. --Residence is determined on the basis of the classification of the place in which the worker lived at the time of the survey. In the Current Population Survey, farm wageworkers were classified as living on farms (farm residents) if they lived in rural territory on places of 10 or more acres of land, and if as much as $50 worth of agricultural products were sold from the place in the reporting year. Also included are those who lived on places of less than 10 acres if as much as $250 worth of agricultural products were sold from the place in the reporting year. Nonfarm-resident workers lived in urban U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE OFFICIAL BUSINESS PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE, $300 POSTAGE & FEES PAID United States Department of Agriculture places, rural towns or villages, or in the open country on places that did not meet the criteria for farm classification. Migratory status.--Migratory farm wageworkers are those from whom a "yes" answer was obtained to one of two questions: "Some farmworkers leave home to harvest crops or do other seasonal farmwork in a different State. Did . do this in 1969?" If the answer to that question was "no", the question was asked: "During 1969, did leave home to do this work in a different county in this State?" Enumerators were instructed to consider as migratory workers (a) persons who were reported to have left their homes temporarily overnight to do farm wagework in another county within the same State or in a different State with expectation of eventually returning home, and (b) persons who had no usual place of residence, if they did farm wagework in two or more counties during the year. They were instructed to consider as nonmigratory workers (a) persons who were reported as farm wageworkers in the county for part of the year and who made a more or less permanent move to another county during the year and also did farm wagework in the second county, and (b) persons who commuted daily across the county or State line to do farm wagework and returned home each night. Region.--The States included in each of the four regions are as follows: Northeast--Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey; North Central--Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas; South--Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas; and West--Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii, Alaska. Days of farm or nonfarm wagework.--Days on which any farm or nonfarm wagework was reported. The work may have been for all or only part of a day. Earnings from farm or non farm work. --Total cash wages or salary received for farmwork or for nonfarm work. Estimates of earnings do not include the value of perquisites received in connection with farmwork nor the value of fringe benefits received in connection with nonfarm work. 66-977 - 71 13 ABSTRACT The Hired Farm Working Force of 1970 (HFWF) consisted of about 2.5 million persons 14 years of age and over who did some farmwork for cash wages during the year. This decline of 4 percent from the 2.6 million in 1969 reflects further utilization of farm laborsaving technology. Members of the 1970 HFWF were mostly young (median age 23), white (78 percent), male (76 percent), persons living in non farm places (73 percent). They earned an average of $887 in cash wages, or $11.10 a day for 80 days of farm wagework. Only 22 percent were engaged chiefly in farm wagework. Of these, 306,000 were year-round workers, who were the most fully employed and highest paid, averaging 318 days of farm wagework and earning $3,467. About 56 percent (primarily housewives and students) were not in the labor force most of the year. About 196,000, or 8 percent of the total, were domestic migratory workers. This was a drop of 24 percent from 257,000 in 1969, while the remainder of the hired farmworkers declined by only 1 percent. 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 B. Gregory Russell of the Demographic Surveys Division, Bureau of the Census, cooperated in planning the survey, and supervised field operations and the tabulation of data. Introduction.... CONTENTS Page 1 Size of the 1970 Hired Farm Working Force.. Recent Trends in Numbers of Hired Farmworkers.. Composition and Residence of the 1970 Hired Farm Working Force. Man-Days of Farm Wagework Done by Selected Groups.... Average Number of Days of Farm Wagework and Related Earnings.. Average Employment and Earnings of Workers Who Did Farm Wagework Only and Those Who Did Farm and Nonfarm Wagework.. March 1971 |