Domestic Farm Employment and the H-2A Visa Program

Many indicators suggest a potential decline in the domestic farmworker supply, which is often presumed to have driven agricultural employers towards an increased reliance on the H-2A visa program. Since hiring H-2A workers is generally more expensive than employing domestic farmworkers, it remains to be seen if reductions in domestic farm employment could be fully offset by increased H-2A employment. In this study, we first examine whether a recent downturn in the employment of U.S.-based Mexicanborn workers is responsible for the recent rise in H-2A employment. Subsequently, we quantify the extent to which changes in domestic farm employment impact the employment of H-2A guest workers. Our results suggest that a structural shift in the domestic farm labor market around 2011 may be responsible for the recent increase in H-2A employment. However, the rise in H-2A worker employment has not fully compensated for the decrease in domestic farm employment.