Farmworker employment increases in spring and peaks in the summer: Unemployment-insurance-covered employment in crop, animal, and crop support agriculture, 2018

Crops Animals Crop support
2018-01-01 444,727 258,685 286,890
2018-02-01 468,608 259,262 296,338
2018-03-01 492,651 261,386 279,983
2018-04-01 539,485 262,323 322,193
2018-05-01 576,550 266,132 363,201
2018-06-01 619,037 269,758 385,042
2018-07-01 624,332 269,423 392,481
2018-08-01 603,611 268,574 376,804
2018-09-01 611,683 265,375 366,898
2018-10-01 604,342 265,776 360,669
2018-11-01 528,561 263,809 332,373
2018-12-01 479,123 262,850 302,493

Note: “Crop support” is mostly a measure of workers brought to farms by labor contractors.

“Crop support” is mostly a measure of workers brought to farms by labor contractors. Over 80% of employment in agriculture is covered by unemployment insurance (although smaller employers in some states are exempt from the program).

Source: Authors’ analysis of U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages

View the underlying data on epi.org.