Where are forestry guest workers performing work in the US?

Last week I wrote about the importance of H-2B guest workers to the forest products industry. This week I share some data on where these guest workers are performing work across the US.?

All data on the H-2B program are available on the Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification’s website. Data from fiscal year 2022 are reported in this post. This represents the federal fiscal year for all workers employed between October 1, 2021 and September 30, 2022. Historical data dating back to 2011 also exist on the DOL website.?

All employers that request guest workers list a Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code as a part of their application. The following four forestry-themed occupations were identified:

• Forestry and conservation workers,?
• Farm workers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse workers,?
• Recreation workers, and
• Tree trimmers and pruners.

In FY 2022, a total of 16,137 certified guest workers were employed in forestry-related occupations. Forest and conservation workers was the occupation with the third highest number of certified guest workers, behind landscaping/groundskeeping workers and maids/housekeeping cleaners. “Forestry worker” was the most common job title listed on H-2B guest worker applications.?

Depending on forestry occupation, some regional trends existed for guest workers in FY 2012. These trends were examined for the state in which the guest workers performed their job:

• Forestry and conservation workers were most numerous in regions with the most productive forestland, namely the US Southeast and Pacific Northwest.
• Tree trimmers and pruners were concentrated in Texas and the southeastern US.
• Farm workers and laborers working in crops, nurseries, and greenhouses were concentrated in Texas and distributed across several other states.
• Recreation workers were most numerous in New Jersey and some areas of the US Southeast.

Guest workers under the H-2B program are essential for many organizations in the forest products industry. Demand for guest workers varies regionally across the US depending on the nature of the forestry job. Maintaining a strong commitment to the H-2B program can promote a healthy and viable forest products industry in the future.

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I’m working through a complete analysis of the recent data on H-2B guest workers in forestry. In the comments, let me know if there are any specific variables you’d like to see!