Report from New York Comptroller suggests job loss in agriculture sector during COVID shutdown was most resilient

The latest report from New York’s Comptroller suggests that the agriculture industry proved to be most resilient for when it came to job losses amidst the COVID shutdown in 2020.

The difference, according to this report, highlights a 1% job loss in agriculture compared to nearly 9% for a general statewide employment loss during that time.

Last-year, agriculture in New York produced roughly $3.3 billion in gross domestic product and paid close to $1 billion in wages, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Both employment and wages in the farming sector grew in 2021 to reach new highs.

With New York Agriculture still faced with challenges posed by the pandemic, the Department of Labor’s Farm Laborers Wage Board (Board) recommended last January that farm workers receive overtime for: hours worked above 56 hours weekly in 2024; hours worked above 52 hours in 2026; hours worked above 48 hours in 2028; hours worked above 44 hours in 2030; and hours worked above 40 hours in 2032.

The Board is scheduled to vote on a final report on this proposal on September 6, 2022. If approved, the Commissioner of the Department of Labor has 45 days to consider whether to approve, reject, or modify the action of the Board.

Read the full report here.

Image courtesy via New York State Department of Agriculture.