H-2A Seasonal Worker Program Sees Growth
It’s time for your Southeast Regional Ag News. On the Ag Information Network, I’m Haylie Shipp.
USDA’s Economic Research Service Monday reported data that shows the H-2A season worker program has expanded over time.
U.S. agricultural employers who anticipate a shortage of U.S. domestic workers can fill seasonal farm jobs with temporary foreign workers through the program.
The Department of Labor certified around 317,000 temporary jobs in fiscal year 2021 under the H-2A visa program, more than six times the number certified in 2005. Only about 80 percent of the certified jobs in 2021 resulted in the issuance of a visa.
The program has grown partly in response to current U.S. domestic workers finding jobs outside of U.S. agriculture and a drop in newly arrived immigrants who seek U.S. farm jobs.
The program continued to expand in FY 2020 despite the jump in U.S. unemployment caused by lockdowns associated with the pandemic. Nationally, the average H-2A contract in FY 2020 offered 24 weeks of employment and an average hourly wage of $13.
Six States accounted for about half of the H-2A jobs filled in 2021 certified: Florida, Georgia, Washington, California, North Carolina, and Louisiana.
