More Workers Returning To California Farms

Up until recently, California farms were hurting for workers. The workers who historically took jobs tending to the farmland of California’s inland valleys and coastal plains were finding higher paying work in the construction and restaurant industries.

“So what happens is that people move on to higher-paying jobs,” said Phil Martin, a farm labor economist at the UC Davis. “Farm labor is a job, not a career. When people have other options, they get out of farm work. Construction is a frequent first step up the job ladder.”

The recession changed all that.

California’s jobless rate hit 9.3% in December of last year. Since December 2007, construction jobs fell 10.8%, or almost 93,000 jobs. The restaurant industry has lost the need for cooks and dishwashers as many chains are reporting sales declines. With these changes affecting the golden state, more and more workers are returning to the farms. Since December 2007, employment in agriculture rose by 0.5%, or 2,000 jobs.

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