Rural Migration Blog
April 2023
DOL Changes AEWRs and PWRs
DOL revised its Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) methodology in regulations issued February 28, 2023. Instead of one AEWR per state based on USDA’s Farm Labor Survey (FLS) of farm employers who hire workers directly, there will be five to 10 AEWRs in each state based on the wage associated with a particular job title determined by DOL but drawn from the employer’s description of the job to be performed.
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Biden and Immigration at 2
President Joe Biden took office in January 2021 and quickly reversed many Trump Administration migration policies, including Trump’s wall on the Mexico-US border, stepped up efforts to detect and deport unauthorized foreigners inside the US, and restrictions on the influx of asylum seekers and refugees. Biden supported proposals in Congress to legalize the 10 million to 11 million unauthorized foreigners in the US.
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Unions: 10% of US Workers, 1% of Farm Workers
The share of US workers who were union members fell to 10 percent in 2022, down from 20 percent in 1983. The wage and salary workforce rose by 50 percent between 1983 and 2022 while the number of union members fell by 20 percent.
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California Water: 2022-23 Records and SGMA
California received more precipitation than normal in 2022-2023. There were record levels of levels of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains; the snow melts in summer and provides water for people and crops.
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California Farm Sales: $51 billion in 2021
California had farm sales of $51 billion in 2021, up from $49 billion in 2020 and 1.5x the farm sales of Iowa. California accounted for 12 percent of US farm sales of $434 billion in 2021, including $238 billion from the sale of crops and $195 billion from the sale of animal commodities.
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