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USDA REPORTS CHANGES IN FARM EMPLOYMENT OVER THE PAST 50 YEARS
Jul. 17, 2023
By Mark White, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, University of Illinois and Andrew Van Leuven, Department of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University
The past half-century has witnessed tremendous change in farm employment, and it remains foundational to the economy in many rural regions. Farm employment--the number of workers engaged in the direct production of agricultural commodities, either livestock or crops, whether as a sole proprietor, partner, or hired laborer[1]--accounted for nearly 4 million jobs in 1969 or 4.4% of total U.S. employment.[2] By 2021, farm employment generated almost 2.6 million jobs or 2.2% of total U.S. employment. These trends resulted from the greater use of labor-saving technologies and ongoing farm consolidation, among other factors.
This brief uses U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) data to illustrate changes in U.S. farm employment since 1969, with a focus on the geographic consequences of these trends. We first examine broad regional (i.e., multi-state) trends in farm employment. We then consider how agricultural employment has changed at the county level during this period. We conclude by highlighting several consequences, particularly for rural communities, resulting from these half-century changes in farm employment.
The Most Significant Declines in Farm Employment Occurred in the Southeast and Midwest
Overall, U.S. farm employment has declined 35% percent since 1969. Figures 1A and 1B show the absolute and relative changes in farm employment, by broad multi-state region[3], over the past half-century. In 1969, the Southeast (31.6% of total U.S. farm employment), Plains (19.7%), and Great Lakes (16.3%) regions accounted for almost two-thirds of total U.S. farm employment. These regions have also experienced the greatest absolute and relative declines in farm employment in the past 50 years, and by 2021 these three regions' combined share was down to less than 55% of the total.
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