July 2018, Volume 24, Number 3
Average FTE and Unique Workers, 2014-16
Average employment and the number of unique workers employed in California agriculture (NAICS 11) has been rising, to 425,400 and 989,500 in 2016. Average employment represents 12 monthly snapshots of persons on the payroll during the period that includes the 12th of the month, and is a measure of full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs. Unique workers are all persons reported by employers when paying unemployment insurance taxes, including those not on the payroll during the 12th of the month. Average employment has been climbing slowly, but the number of unique workers rose by 142,000 between 2015 and 2016, suggesting that more workers are trying farm work.
| Share of FTE Employ | FTE Pay($) | Primary Pay($) | Primary Share FTE | Hourly($) for 2080 hours | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAICS 11 | All ag | 100% | 32,316 | 16,142 | 50% | 15.54 |
| NAICS 111 | Crops | 41% | 34,411 | 20,540 | 60% | 16.54 |
| NAICS 1112 | Vegetables | 8% | 39,809 | 26,092 | 66% | 19.14 |
| NAICS 1113 | Fruits | 23% | 31,846 | 16,900 | 53% | 15.31 |
| NAICS 1114 | Nursery | 6% | 35,250 | 27,124 | 77% | 16.95 |
| NAICS 112 | Animals | 7% | 37,372 | 30,989 | 83% | 17.97 |
| NAICS 112120 | Dairy | 4% | 36,864 | 31,433 | 85% | 17.72 |
| NAICS 1151 | Crop support | 51% | 29,956 | 12,297 | 41% | 14.40 |
| NAICS 115113 | Machine harvesting | 2% | 35,457 | 17,571 | 50% | 17.05 |
| NAICS 115114 | Other postharvest | 10% | 40,846 | 23,485 | 57% | 19.64 |
| NAICS 115115 | FLCs | 34% | 24,589 | 9,026 | 37% | 11.82 |
| Total Workers | One Job | Share | Two Jobs | Share | 3 or more | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 829,300 | 499,400 | 60% | 220,500 | 27% | 109,400 | 13% |
| 2015 | 847,600 | 481,700 | 57% | 217,200 | 26% | 148,800 | 18% |
| 2016 | 989,500 | 545,200 | 55% | 258,500 | 26% | 185,800 | 19% |
| Source: California EDD | |||||||
| Sheep Farming | 92% |
| Hog and Pig Farming | 92% |
| All Other Grain Farming | 83% |
| Support activities for animal production | 81% |
| Mushroom Production | 80% |
| Dairy Cattle and Milk Production | 75% |
| Floriculture Production | 75% |
| Nursery and Tree Production | 73% |
| Tree Nut Farming | 71% |
| Farm Labor Contractors | 70% |
| Other Vegetable and Melon Farming | 67% |
| Postharvest Crop Activities | 64% |
| Other Food Crops Grown Under Cover | 64% |
| Crop Harvesting | 64% |
| Farm Management Services | 63% |
| Grape Vineyards | 63% |
| Strawberry Farming | 62% |
| Orange Groves | 62% |
| Fruit and Tree Nut Combination Farming | 61% |
| Citrus Groves | 60% |
| Other Noncitrus Fruit Farming | 60% |
| Vegetable and Melon Farming | 59% |
| Cotton Ginning | 56% |
| Berry (Except Strawberry) Farming | 53% |
| All UI recipients | Amount ($mil) | Average |
|---|---|---|
| 185,410 | 446 | 2,405 |
| Number of Workers | Amount of Benefits | |
| 18,031 | $20-$500 | |
| 155,449 | $501-$5,000 | |
| 11,743 | $5,001-$10,000 | |
| Source: EDD analysis of unemployment insurance payroll tax data | ||
| Logging | 47% |
| Cotton Ginning | 45% |
| Vegetable and Melon Farming | 33% |
| Crop Harvesting | 28% |
| Postharvest Crop Activities | 28% |
| Other Vegetable and Melon Farming | 27% |
| Fruit and Tree Nut Combination Farming | 25% |
| Citrus Groves | 24% |
| Grape Vineyards | 24% |
| Berry (Except Strawberry) Farming | 23% |
| Farm Labor Contractors | 19% |
| Strawberry Farming | 15% |
| Orange Groves | 15% |
| Tree Nut Farming | 14% |
| Nursery and Tree Production | 8% |
| Floriculture Production | 6% |
| Dairy Cattle and Milk Production | 4% |
| Mushroom Production | 3% |
| Sheep Farming | 2% |
| County Name | Number of Farm Workers |
|---|---|
| Kern County | |
| Farm Labor Contractors and Crew Leaders (FLC) | 97,900 |
| Tree Nut Farming | 11,800 |
| Grape Vineyards | 11,300 |
| Other Vegetable and Melon Farming | 3,100 |
| Other Noncitrus Fruit Farming | 3,000 |
| Total | 150,300 |
| Fresno County | |
| Farm Labor Contractors and Crew Leaders (FLC) | 56,400 |
| Postharvest Crop Activities | 13,700 |
| Grape Vineyards | 10,100 |
| Other Noncitrus Fruit Farming | 4,200 |
| Tree Nut Farming | 3,900 |
| Total | 111,800 |
| Monterey County | |
| Farm Labor Contractors and Crew Leaders (FLC) | 40,700 |
| Postharvest Crop Activities | 16,300 |
| Strawberry Farming | 13,200 |
| Other Vegetable and Melon Farming | 11,000 |
| Crop Harvesting, Primarily by Machine | 5,200 |
| Total | 101,300 |
| Tulare County | |
| Farm Labor Contractors and Crew Leaders (FLC) | 49,400 |
| Postharvest Crop Activities | 6,700 |
| Dairy Cattle and Milk Production | 5,000 |
| Grape Vineyards | 3,700 |
| Farm Management Services | 2,600 |
| Total | 86,100 |
| Ventura County | |
| Strawberry Farming | 12,000 |
| Farm Labor Contractors and Crew Leaders (FLC) | 9,700 |
| Berry (except Strawberry) Farming | 5,400 |
| Other Vegetable and Melon Farming | 2,400 |
| Employment Services | 2,000 |
| Total | 41,600 |