The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service has released their latest agriculture labor report for Wisconsin and the United States. Agriculture continues to be a large employer of people across the map and is always in need of more help.
There were 61,000 workers hired directly by farms in the Lake Region (Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) during the reference week of July 11-17, 2021, according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Farm Labor report. Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage rate of $16.02 per hour, 78 cents above July 2020. The number of hours worked averaged 40.4 for hired workers during the reference week, compared with 39.8 hours in July 2020.
During the reference week of October 10-16, 2021, there were 64,000 workers hired directly by farms in the Lake Region (Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin). Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage rate of $16.57 per hour during the October 2021 reference week, 85 cents above October 2020. The number of hours worked averaged 41.3 for hired workers during the reference week, the same as in October 2020.
There were 772,000 workers hired directly by farm operators on the Nation’s farms and ranches during the week of October 10-16, 2021, up 2 percent from the October 2020 reference week. Workers hired directly by farm operators numbered 797,000 during the week of July 11-17, 2021, up 3 percent from the July 2020 reference week.
Farm operators paid their hired workers an average gross wage of $16.59 per hour during the October 2021 reference week, up 5 percent from the October 2020 reference week. Field workers received an average of $16.08 per hour, up 5 percent. Livestock workers earned $15.45 per hour, up 6 percent. The field and livestock worker combined gross wage rate, at $15.92 per hour, was up 5 percent from the 2020 reference week. Hired laborers worked an average of 42.0 hours during the October 2021 reference week, down slightly from the hours worked during the October 2020 reference week.
Farm operators paid their hired workers an average gross wage of $16.59 per hour during the July 2021 reference week, up 6 percent from the July 2020 reference week. Field workers received an average of $16.10 per hour, up 7 percent, while livestock workers earned $15.19 per hour, up 5 percent from a year earlier. The field and livestock worker combined gross wage rate, at $15.85 per hour, was up 7 percent from the July 2020 reference week. Hired laborers worked an average of 41.0 hours during the July 2021 reference week, down 1 percent from the hours worked during the July 2020 reference week.
The 2021 all hired worker annual average gross wage rate was $16.38 per hour, up 6 percent from the 2020 annual average gross wage rate. The 2021 field worker annual average gross wage rate was $15.77 per hour, up 7 percent from the 2020 annual average. The 2021 livestock worker annual average gross wage rate was $15.08 per hour. The 2021 annual average combined gross wage for field and livestock workers was $15.56, up 6 percent from the 2020 annual average of $14.62 per hour.
