Labor survey sheds light on green-industry labor force

With the help of an Ohio State University survey, the nursery industry may better understand how to communicate and train its work force.

Hannah Mathers, OSU Extension nursery and landscape specialist, and graduate student Alejandra Acuña, conducted a multistate survey of 1,548 nursery employees to characterize the green industry labor force. Until now, basic information including nationality, work experience, legal status, education level and salary had not been collected specifically for the green industry. This is information widely available for other agriculture segments, Mathers said.

States surveyed were Ohio, Michigan, Delaware, Tennessee, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Arizona and Rhode Island.

According to the survey, 70 percent of the industry’s labor force is Spanish-speaking or of Hispanic origin. More than half is from Mexico. Hispanic migrant laborers dominated the green industry in all of the states surveyed, with the exception of Indiana.

“The greatest impact that is changing the face of the green industry, and agriculture overall, is the migrant labor force,” Mathers said. “Businesses can be more successful if they take a greater interest in their labor force.”

Information from the nine states is likely representative of the green-industry labor force throughout the country, she said.

Survey results include:

* More than 70 percent of those filling green industry jobs are general laborers aged 18-34 with middle school being the highest level of education.

* Most surveyed do not have health benefits (70 percent), or do not know what benefits they do have. “Such information indicates to me that employers are not communicating to them the benefits they are entitled to, or they are working without proper documentation,” said Mathers.

* Nursery workers surveyed are receiving less than the average U.S. hourly earnings. More than 75 percent are earning between $6 and $10 per hour.

{sidebar id=2}

For more: Hannah Mathers, OSU, (614) 247-6195; mathers.7@osu.edu.