TABLE I.
Demographic and Work Characteristics Among Hired Crop Workers in the United States During NAWS Period I (1999, 2002–2004) and Period II (2008–2010)
| Characteristic | Data collection years
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period I
|
Period II
|
|||
| Weighted percent n = 13,604 | 95%CI | Weighted percent n = 5,873 | 95%CI | |
| Age (years) | ||||
| 14–17 | 3.8 | 3.0–4.6 | 2.3 | 1.2–3.3 |
| 18–24 | 27.4 | 25.7–29.1 | 20.7 | 17.7–23.8 |
| 25–34 | 27.9 | 26.3–29.6 | 24.7 | 22.0–27.4 |
| 35–44 | 22.3 | 21.1–23.6 | 23.0 | 20.3–25.7 |
| 45–54 | 11.7 | 10.7–12.7 | 18.7 | 16.3–21.1 |
| 55+ | 6.8 | 6.0–7.8 | 10.6 | 8.9–12.3 |
| Gender and age (years) | ||||
| Male | 76.9 | 74.6–79.3 | 75.7 | 72.6–78.8 |
| <25 | 24.8 | 23.2–26.6 | 18.0 | 15.3–20.7 |
| 25–34 | 21.2 | 19.7–22.6 | 18.8 | 16.4–21.3 |
| 35–44 | 16.6 | 15.4–17.8 | 16.7 | 15.1–18.6 |
| 45+ | 14.3 | 13.2–15.5 | 22.1 | 19.4–24.8 |
| Female | 23.1 | 20.7–25.4 | 24.3 | 21.2–27.4 |
| <25 | 6.3 | 5.2–7.5 | 5.0 | 3.8–6.2 |
| 25–34 | 6.8 | 5.8–7.7 | 5.9 | 4.8–7.0 |
| 35–44 | 5.8 | 4.7–6.8 | 6.2 | 4.5–7.9 |
| 45+ | 4.2 | 3.5–4.8 | 7.2 | 5.3–9.0 |
| Country of birth/ethnicity | ||||
| US White | 10.9 | 9.0–12.7 | 17.2 | 13.5–20.9 |
| US Hispanic | 7.0 | 5.6–8.4 | 5.7 | 3.7–7.7 |
| US other | 4.1 | 3.0–5.2 | 2.6 | 1.6–3.6 |
| Mexican | 74.9 | 72.3–77.6 | 69.1 | 64.4–73.8 |
| All other | 3.1 | 2.1–4.1 | 5.3 | 3.7–6.9 |
| English language fluency | ||||
| Not at all | 43.0 | 40.5–45.4 | 32.6 | 28.6–36.7 |
| Somewhat | 34.3 | 32.5–36.0 | 38.4 | 35.1–41.6 |
| Well | 22.8 | 20.5–25.0 | 29.0 | 24.3–33.7 |
| Highest grade completed by country | ||||
| Foreign born | 78.1 | 75.6–80.5 | 74.5 | 69.9–79.0 |
| No education | 4.0 | 3.3–4.7 | 4.5 | 3.4–5.6 |
| 1st–6th grade | 46.1 | 43.9–48.2 | 40.0 | 36.4–43.7 |
| 7th–11th grade | 21.6 | 20.0–23.3 | 18.5 | 16.2–20.9 |
| 12th+grade | 6.3 | 5.5–7.1 | 11.4 | 8.9–13.8 |
| US born | 21.9 | 19.4–24.5 | 25.5 | 21.0–30.1 |
| No education | 0.1 | 0.06–0.23 | – | – |
| 1st–6th grade | 1.8 | 1.2–2.3 | 0.9 | 0.2–1.6 |
| 7th–11th grade | 7.4 | 6.2–8.6 | 6.6 | 4.9–8.3 |
| 12th+grade | 12.7 | 10.8–14.6 | 18.0 | 8.9–13.8 |
| Region where interviewed | ||||
| East | 15.4 | 12.8–17.9 | 12.9 | 10.0–15.8 |
| Southeast | 12.7 | 10.5–14.9 | 11.7 | 9.0–14.5 |
| Midwest | 16.4 | 13.5–19.4 | 19.7 | 13.5–25.9 |
| Southwest | 8.1 | 6.3–9.8 | 7.6 | 5.7–9.5 |
| West | 12.2 | 9.2–15.1 | 16.4 | 12.4–20.5 |
| California | 35.3 | 31.9–38.8 | 31.6 | 26.6–36.6 |
| Migranta | ||||
| Non-migrant (settled) | 60.5 | 57.4–63.6 | 73.6 | 69.1–78.1 |
| Migrant | 39.5 | 36.4–42.6 | 26.4 | 21.9–30.9 |
| Follow the crop | 8.9 | 7.2–10.5 | 6.8 | 4.9–8.7 |
| Shuttle | 30.7 | 28.0–33.3 | 19.6 | 15.1–24.1 |
| Documentation status | ||||
| Citizen | 24.6 | 21.8–27.4 | 30.0 | 24.9–35.1 |
| <25 | 6.8 | 5.6–8.0 | 7.4 | 4.4–10.4 |
| 25–34 | 4.7 | 3.6–5.8 | 4.4 | 3.2–5.6 |
| 35–44 | 5.5 | 4.6–6.4 | 5.2 | 3.9–6.5 |
| 45+ | 7.6 | 6.6–8.6 | 13.0 | 10.7–15.3 |
| Documented | 25.3 | 22.4–28.2 | 20.4 | 17.5–23.3 |
| <25 | 2.8 | 1.9–3.7 | 1.9 | 0.7–3.1 |
| 25–34 | 5.7 | 4.8–6.6 | 2.2 | 1.5–2.9 |
| 35–44 | 9.4 | 8.2–10.6 | 6.4 | 5.0–7.8 |
| 45+ | 7.4 | 6.5–8.3 | 9.8 | 8.4–11.2 |
| Undocumented | 50.1 | 45.3–55.0 | 49.6 | 40.6–58.6 |
| <25 | 21.7 | 19.2–24.2 | 13.8 | 10.0–17.6 |
| 25–34 | 17.6 | 15.7–19.5 | 18.2 | 15.2–21.2 |
| 35–44 | 7.4 | 6.1–8.7 | 11.5 | 7.8–15.2 |
| 45+ | 3.4 | 2.8–4.0 | 6.2 | 4.9–7.5 |
| Number of employers | ||||
| One | 72.9 | 70.6–75.3 | 80.1 | 76.3–83.9 |
| Two or more | 27.1 | 24.7–29.4 | 19.9 | 16.1–23.7 |
| Type of hire | ||||
| Direct | 78.6 | 75.4–81.9 | 86.6 | 82.4–90.8 |
| Indirect (labor contractor) | 21.4 | 18.1–24.6 | 13.4 | 9.2–17.6 |
| Type of work | ||||
| Field work | 73.4 | 69.5–77.3 | 70.4 | 65.1–75.8 |
| Nursery | 20.4 | 17.1–23.8 | 23.1 | 18.1–28.0 |
| Packing | 6.2 | 3.7–8.7 | 6.5 | 3.8–9.2 |
| Duration of farm work in US | ||||
| <12 months | 17.2 | 15.3–19.1 | 10.3 | 7.5–13.2 |
| 12–23 months | 8.8 | 7.6–10.0 | 5.6 | 4.6–6.6 |
| 2–5 years | 19.6 | 18.2–21.1 | 15.8 | 13.8–17.8 |
| 6–10 years | 15.6 | 14.3–16.8 | 20.1 | 17.3–23.0 |
| 11–20 years | 21.3 | 20.0–22.6 | 21.0 | 18.5–23.5 |
| 21+years | 17.5 | 16.0–18.9 | 27.2 | 24.0–30.3 |
| Handled pesticides in the last year with “yes” by age (years) | ||||
| No | 88.5 | 86.9–90.0 | 84.0 | 81.4–86.5 |
| Yes | 11.4 | 9.9–13.0 | 16.0 | 13.5–18.6 |
| <25 | 2.1 | 1.6–2.6 | 2.5 | 1.6–3.3 |
| 25–34 | 2.5 | 2.1–2.9 | 3.8 | 2.9–4.8 |
| 35–44 | 3.5 | 2.8–4.2 | 4.4 | 3.3–5.5 |
| 45+ | 3.3 | 2.7–4.0 | 5.4 | 4.2–6.6 |
| Used healthcare in the last 2 years in the US | ||||
| No | 53.5 | 51.3–55.8 | 40.5 | 37.2–43.7 |
| Yes | 46.5 | 44.2–48.7 | 59.5 | 56.3–62.8 |
| Health condition | ||||
| No | 84.2 | 82.8–85.6 | 81.1 | 78.7–83.5 |
| Yes | 15.8 | 14.4–17.2 | 18.9 | 16.5–21.3 |
| Musculoskeletal complaints | ||||
| No | 79.5 | 77.8–81.2 | 85.1 | 83.1–87.2 |
| Yes | 20.5 | 18.8–22.2 | 14.9 | 12.8–16.9 |
NAWS, National Agricultural Workers Survey; n, sample size; CI, confidence interval.
a
NAWS classifies hired crop workers as non-migrant (or settled) or migrant, with migrant workers being further subcategorized as either shuttle or follow-the-crop [Carroll et al., 2005]. Shuttle workers travel 75 miles or more from their home for farm work within a single location. Follow-the-crop workers are those that travel to multiple locations for farm work.