Rising Food and Energy Prices: Projections for LaborMarkets 2008-18 and Beyond

The objective of this paper is to examine how the likely growth in the ethanol industryover the next decade will impact U.S. labor markets, especially migrant crop labor, which is largelyimmigrant labor. To build the background for making projections for 2008-2010 and beyond, thepaper reviews and critiques: (i) the size and composition of the U.S. farm labor market, (ii) thedemographics and wage of hired farm workers, (iii) the supply of farm workers, and (iv) the factorsaffecting the demand for farm labor, including new technologies. The final section provides someprojections for agricultural labor markets, taking account not only of likely trends in energy pricesbut also new technologies that will affect labor demand in the future.[...]