3.2.3 UPTAKE AND IMPACT OF THE H-2A PROGRAM
Between the 1950s and 2000s, there was a decline of almost 70 percent in the total number of farmworkers employed on U.S. farms. 40 The decline was driven by both a fall in the number of family farmworkers as well as a decline in the domestic labor force willing to work in agriculture. Immigrant labor under the H-2A program is increasingly being used to address the shortage. Indeed, the H-2A visa program has
expanded significantly in recent years, with DOL- certified temporary jobs growing 12 percent annually, from around 50,000 certifications in 2005 to 317,000 certifications in 2021. About 80 percent of job certifications result in visas being issued, as some employers don’t follow through to hire H-2A workers and some workers fill more than one certified job as they are seasonal in nature (see Figure 15). 41
THE GROWTH IN CERTIFIED H-2A JOBS HAS BEEN DRIVEN BY THE FALL IN DOMESTIC LABOR AVAILABILITY FOR AGRICULTURAL WORK
CAGR 2005- 2021 [%]
H-2A certified jobs and visas issued, 2005-2021 [number of H-2A jobs and visas]
+534%
350,000
Jobs certified 317,000 Visas issued 258,000
+12 %
300,000
250,000
+12 %
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Source: USDA, Roland Berger Figure 15: H2-A Certified jobs and visas
40 Family and hired farmworkers on US farms, 1950-2000 | USDA, NASS, FLS 41 The H-2A temporary agricultural worker program in 2020 | USDA
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