Business and finance
Farm labor contractor
Recruit and hire seasonal or temporary agricultural laborers. May transport, house, and provide meals for workers.
Median pay
$58,460
Growth to 2035
+7%
faster than average
Openings a year
100
Time to qualify*
2.1 years
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Farm labor contractor
$58,46010% earn under $30,930 · middle half $35,720–$79,590 · top 10% over $84,050
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- No formal educational credential
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- Less than 5 years
What the work is like
Farm labor contractor
Dealing with the public
Rarely
Constantly
Unpleasant or angry people
Rarely
Constantly
Time pressure
Rarely
Constantly
Cost of a mistake
Minor
Severe
Freedom to make decisions
Little
A lot
Repeating the same tasks
Rarely
Constantly
Time sitting
Rarely
Constantly
Time standing
Rarely
Constantly
Outdoors in all weather
Rarely
Constantly
Farm labor contractor: 64% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Pay wages of contracted farm laborers.
- Provide food, drinking water, and field sanitation facilities to contracted workers.
- Recruit and hire agricultural workers.
- Supervise the work of contracted employees.
- Employ foremen to deal directly with workers when recruiting, hiring, instructing, assigning tasks, and enforcing work rules.
- Furnish tools for employee use.
- Direct and transport workers to appropriate work sites.
Outlook and AI
Farm labor contractors held 1,900 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 2,000 by 2035 (+7%, faster than average; all jobs: +3.5%).
Compare with
- Farm labor contractor vs. First-line supervisors of farming, fishing, and forestry workers
- Farm labor contractor vs. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers
- Farm labor contractor vs. First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers
- Farm labor contractor vs. Buyers and purchasing agents
- Farm labor contractor vs. General and operations managers
- Farm labor contractor vs. First-line supervisors of housekeeping and janitorial workers
- Farm labor contractor vs. Agricultural inspector
- Farm labor contractor vs. First-line supervisors of production and operating workers