The Hired Farm Working Force of 1981 [microform] / Susan L. Pollack and William R. Jackson, Jr

The report presents data on the demographic, social, and economic characteristics of the approximately 2.5 million persons 14 years old and over who did hired farmwork during 1981. Data from a survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census included each state and the District of Columbia but not Puerto Rico or other United States territories. In 1981, most farmworkers were under 25 (55%), white (73%), and male (77%). Hispanics comprised 13% of the workers; blacks and others, 14%. Workers averaged 98 days of farmwork; earned an average $4,299 annually, of which $2,659 resulted from farmwork; and had a median education of 11 years (7.1 years for Hispanics, 9.6 years for blacks, 11.7 years for whites). Demographic data indicated that at survey time, most farmworkers were in the South (40%) and the North-Central Region (28%). Migrant laborers, 75% of whom were white, accounted for 5% of hired farmworkers, a decline from recent years. Since 1971, the number of farmworkers between ages 18 and 44 increased, the number between ages 14 and 17 decreased, and the number of days spent at farm work increased. Statistical tables present racial/ethnic characteristics, farmwork duration, demographic and employment characteristics, and farm and nonfarm earnings. (SB)