Source: UC DAVIS, RURAL MIGRATION NEWS, 12/18/20


The H-2A program expanded in 2020 despite high US unemployment. The US Department of Labor (DOL) reduced the wages that must be paid to H-2A workers in 2021 and 2022, which should encourage faster H-2A expansion.

DOL certified the applications of 13,552 farm employers to fill 275,430 jobs with H-2A workers in FY20. The leading H-2A states were FL with 14 percent of H-2A jobs certified, GA and WA with 10 percent each, CA with nine percent, and NC with eight percent. The top five states accounted for over half of all job certifications.

Florida-based employers were certified to fill 60,100 jobs with H-2A workers, but only 36,600 of these jobs were in Florida. Many FL-based FLCs move H-2A workers to other states, explaining why almost 40 percent of the jobs certified to FL-based employers were in other states.

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