Iowa farmworkers paid more than U.S. average Survey also finds workweek shorter this year than last

Iowa and Missouri farm operators are paying the workers they hire more than the national average.

Farms in the two states directly hired 27,000 workers during the reference week of July 10 through July 16, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service. They were paid an average wage of $13.72 per hour, up 83 cents per hour from $12.89 per hour in July 2015.

Iowa and Missouri field workers received an average wage of $13.05 per hour in July 2016, up 78 cents from $12.27 per hour in the same month of 2015.

Livestock workers earned $13.27 per hour in July 2016, up 59 cents from $12.68 per hour in the same week of July 2015.

The field and livestock worker combined wage rate of $13.15 per hour in July was up 70 cents from $12.45 per hour in July 2015.

Iowa and Missouri farm operators hired 2,000 more workers in this year's reference week compared with the July reference week in 2015. The laborers worked an average 37.2 hours per week in July 2016, down from 39.6 hours per week in July 2015.

Nationally, farm operators paid hired workers an average $13.02 per hour for the same period, up from $12.47 per hour in the USDA's July 2015 reference week.

Field workers received an average wage of $12.32 per hour, and livestock workers earned an average $12.15 per hour.

The field and livestock worker combined wage rate of $12.27 per hour in July 2016 was up from $11.75 per hour in July 2015.

The largest percentage increases in the number of hired workers from the July 2015 reference week occurred in Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Utah.

The largest percentage decreases in the number of hired workers from the July 2015 reference week occurred in Connecticut, Kentucky, Michigan, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin.