U.S. Department of Labor
Employment & Training Administration
Graphical Version
The National Agricultural Workers Survey
- Over time the farmworker population has become increasingly male (now 80%
are men).
- Over time the population has become increasing foreign born (now 70% are
foreign born).
- Farmworkers are very young (2/3 are less than 35) and almost one fifth are
in their first year of US farm work.
- Most adult foreign farmworkers are married and have children.
- Most foreign born farm workers with families live and work separately from
their spouses and children.
- Most foreign farmworkers live with non-relatives.
- Most (3/5th) farmworkers are poor; and the proportion seems to be
increasing over time.
- Despite their poverty few use social services.
- About 100,000 foreign-born eligble farmworker households may be excluded
from each of the major programs such as food stamps, Medicaid and WIC due to
legislation passed by the 104th Congress.
- The proportion of unauthorized rose quickly as citizens and the newly
legalized population left. In the 1994-1995 period, 37% of farmworkers were
unauthorized, up from 7% in 1989.
