4 ms·

Probably has to do with precise definitions of "non farm", "farmer", "farming" and "agricultural". BLS has this showing 2.3 million people working in agricultu

Probably has to do with precise definitions of "non farm", "farmer", "farming" and "agricultural". BLS has this showing 2.3 million people working in agriculture: https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat15.htm https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat15.htm And this showing there are 900,000 jobs for "Agricultural worker" https://www.bls.gov/ooh/farming-fishing-and-forestry/mobile/agricultural-workers.htm https://www.bls.gov/ooh/farming-fishing-and-forestry/mobile/... Clearly the terms "Employed persons in agriculture industries" and "agricultural workers" have definitions that diverge much, much more than I would have thought as a layperson.

meepmorp 5y ago
If you expand the "What Agricultural Workers Do" section, it says: > Agricultural workers maintain crops and tend livestock. They perform physical labor and operate machinery under the supervision of farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers. According to https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/farmers-ranchers-and-other-agricultural-managers.htm https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/farmers-ranchers-and-othe..., there are 952,000 jobs as "agricultural managers," which isn't how I'd naively expect things to be divided, but it does make sense. I wonder how the remaining jobs are categorized.
- MattGaiser 5y ago
  With automation, they may not manage anybody anymore, just machinery.
  - meepmorp 5y ago
    Eventually, we'll need philosophers to sort it all out.
    - mirkules 5y ago
      Luckily, there is no shortage of philosophers, especially on the internet.
- munk-a 5y ago
  If agricultural workers are people working under the guidance of other folks then managers may also include the "self-managed" i.e. any independent farmers including those that rely heavily on automation. There's also probably a fair chance that subcontracting can mess this up with multiple farm hands hired onto a farm all counting as agricultural managers. It feels like agricultural worker is actually quite narrowly defined to only be unskilled people specifically requiring oversight and management.

meepmorp 5y ago

If you expand the "What Agricultural Workers Do" section, it says: > Agricultural workers maintain crops and tend livestock. They perform physical labor and operate machinery under the supervision of farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers. According to https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/farmers-ranchers-and-other-agricultural-managers.htm https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/farmers-ranchers-and-othe..., there are 952,000 jobs as "agricultural managers," which isn't how I'd naively expect things to be divided, but it does make sense. I wonder how the remaining jobs are categorized.

MattGaiser 5y ago
With automation, they may not manage anybody anymore, just machinery.
- meepmorp 5y ago
  Eventually, we'll need philosophers to sort it all out.
  - mirkules 5y ago
    Luckily, there is no shortage of philosophers, especially on the internet.
munk-a 5y ago
If agricultural workers are people working under the guidance of other folks then managers may also include the "self-managed" i.e. any independent farmers including those that rely heavily on automation. There's also probably a fair chance that subcontracting can mess this up with multiple farm hands hired onto a farm all counting as agricultural managers. It feels like agricultural worker is actually quite narrowly defined to only be unskilled people specifically requiring oversight and management.