Migration histories from residents of a rural Michoacan town were used to construct successive migrant cohorts for the period 1940-1978. Analysis indicates that prior to 1965, migration was limited primarily to male agricultural workers. Since 1965, increased numbers of women, children, and legal U.S. residents have made up the migrant population.…

Latin Americans are displacing Blacks in the most menial and low paying positions as a rapidly increasing percentage of the various categories of dirty work are being occupied by Spanish speaking people. As Blacks move into less menial and better paying positions, a new underclass of Spanish speaking immigrant workers is being created. (Author/NQ)

The long-term decrease in farm employment has moderated in recent years, although technological gains continue, and farmers often need to moonlight in nonfarm jobs in order to remain in the business. (Author)

In 1995, an average 832,000 persons aged 15 and over did hired farmwork each week, receiving median weekly earnings of $260 (compared to $440 for all U.S. workers). The large number of foreign (mostly Mexican) farmworkers contributed to low educational levels. California accounted for 25% of U.S. farm labor expenses, followed by Florida and Texas.…

Characteristics of hired farmworkers have changed little during the 1990s. These workers continue to earn about 58 percent as much as all wage and salary workers. Data tables and figures present characteristics of farmworkers and all workers: age, gender, race, educational attainment, citizenship, region, earnings, and occupations. (TD)

Discusses the status of rural labor and the performance of labor markets in Latin American agriculture. Points out the rapidly declining share of agriculture in the total labor force, weak capacity for creating nonagricultural employment, and rapidly increasing migration to towns. (JOW)

Census data reveal that during the period from 1990 to 1993, the number of hired farmworkers declined; farmworkers were likely to be young, male, and Hispanic, and to have only a limited education; over half of farmworkers had not graduated from high school; and farmworkers' earnings were significantly lower when compared to other workers.…