DOL Releases H2A Labor Certification Program Statistics for FY 2015

Alexander J. Segal's picture
Submitted by Alexander J. Segal on December 29, 2015 - 4:32pm

The Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration released its OFLC H2A statistics from the fourth quarter of FY 2015 (through September 30). The document provides statistics for the H2A Temporary Agricultural Labor Certification Program. It includes statistics for the number of applications received and processed, and the top states, employers, and crops by number of workers certified in FY 2015. You can find the document here.

Applications Received

The DOL received 7,562 applications in FY 2015.

Applications Processed

For FY 2015, the DOL made 7,568 total determinations. Of those, 7,192 were certified, 210 were denied, and 163 were withdrawn. 145,874 positions were requested, and 139,832 of those were certified. 97.2% of the applications were processed timely (calculated from the beginning of FY 2014: Q2).

Determination YTD Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Total Determinations 7,568 1,022 3,407 2,124 1,015
- Certified 7,195 954 3,298 2,011 932
- Denied 210 38 57 64 51
- Withdrawn 163 30 52 49 32
Positions Requested 145,874 22,639 45,480 49,020 28,735
Positions Certified 139,832 21,720 43,740 47,092 27,280
Processed Timely 97.2% 98.3% 96.5% 96.2% 97.5%

Top States

The top three states by worker positions certified were:

1. Florida — 17,942 (13%)
2. North Carolina — 17,696 (13%)
3. Georgia — 14,393 (10%)

Of note, New York came in at eighth place with 5,039 positions certified.

Top Crops/Occupations

The top three crops by positions certified were:

1. Tobacco — 14,544 (10%)
2. Berries — 12,520 (9%)
3. Apples — 7,507 (5%)

This is a brief overview of the H2A Labor Certification Program statistics. The full document contains additional lists and charts.

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DOL Releases H2A Labor Certification Program Statistics for FY 2015