DECEMBER 8 , 2008

ISSUE 1247

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its fourth-quarter farm labor survey results on Nov. 24. This release includes the 2008 annual average field and livestock worker wage rates. Under current U.S. Department of Labor regulations, the 2008 annual average field and livestock worker wage rates will become the 2009 Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR) when published and made effective by the Labor Department in the Federal Register. They are usually published on or about March 1 of the calendar year following publication.

For Florida, the annual average field and livestock worker wage was $9.08 per hour – a three percent increase from the present $8.82 per hour. This is the wage rate that all employers who employ H-2A workers must pay, or an hourly wage guarantee, when it becomes effective in either late February or early March 2009 – unless the Bush administration releases its revised H-2A regulation, which includes a new methodology for AEWRS.