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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 10:50 a.m., Monday, December 3, 2007

Farm work force shrinks in Oct., but wages hit record

Advertiser Staff

The state's agricultural work force in October dipped 9 percent from a year earlier, but wages were up 6 percent to a record $13.19 an hour, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The department conducted a survey Oct. 7-13 reported that farm labor stood at 6,400, down from 7,000 in the same period in 2006. Diversified agricultural workers accounted for 82 percent of all farm labor at 5,250, a drop of 3 percent from last year.

The continued decline of pineapple and sugarcane was reflected in the 28 percent drop in the number of workers to 1,150 in October 2007. The total does not include mill or cannery workers, the report said.

The average wage paid to agricultural workers during the survey period was a record $13.19 per hour, 72 cents higher than the same period last year, according to the report. The combined average wage for field and livestock workers also reached a record at $11.13, up 44 cents from last year.

Hawai'i farms employing from one to nine workers paid an average $11.39, while the average wage for field and livestock workers was $10.49.