Oregon Employers Rely on Both Farm and Non-Farm Seasonal Workers

The economic importance of seasonal foreign labor also varies considerably across the country. Agricultural regions often depend heavily on H-2A workers to sustain labor-intensive crop production, while many coastal and tourism-oriented communities rely on H-2B workers to meet seasonal demand in hospitality, recreation, and related services. Examining where employers request these workers—and the occupations they fill—provides a clearer picture of how different local economies have adapted to persistent labor shortages and evolving workforce needs.

This analysis, conducted by Manifest Law—a modern immigration law firm specializing in immigration visas—uses the U.S. Department of Labor’s labor certification data to examine where demand for seasonal foreign labor is most concentrated across occupations, states, and metropolitan areas. The analysis compares both H-2A and H-2B labor certification requests to identify which industries rely most heavily on temporary foreign workers and where seasonal labor demand represents the largest share of the local workforce, highlighting regional differences in how employers meet seasonal staffing needs.

Which Occupations Are Most Reliant on Seasonal Foreign Labor?

The vast majority of seasonal foreign hiring requests are concentrated in farmworkers and landscapers

Source: Manifest Law analysis of U.S. Department of Labor data

Among H-2A labor certification requests, employers in the 12-month period ending in March 2026 sought more than 533,000 farmworkers and laborers working in crops, nurseries, and greenhouses, making it by far the most-requested occupation. Other leading occupations include agricultural equipment operators (approximately 64,300 requested workers) and farmworkers working with animals (roughly 26,300). While the H-2A program is designed to support agricultural employers, certified requests also include occupations that support farming operations in secondary capacities, such as construction laborers (3,699), shuttle drivers and chauffeurs (2,543), and carpenter helpers (2,315). The concentration of requests among crop workers underscores the labor-intensive nature of U.S. agriculture and the industry's substantial seasonal workforce needs during planting and harvest periods.

Demand through the H-2B program is similarly concentrated, although across a broader range of industries. Unlike H-2A, which has no annual numerical limit, H-2B is generally capped at 66,000 visas each fiscal year, though Congress and the Department of Homeland Security have regularly authorized supplemental visas in recent years as employer demand has exceeded the statutory limit. As a result, certified labor requests reflect employer demand for seasonal workers rather than the number of workers ultimately admitted through the program. Landscaping and groundskeeping workers account for nearly 79,400 requested positions—almost six times more than the next-largest occupation, maids and housekeeping cleaners (13,462). Other leading occupations include forest and conservation workers (13,014), restaurant cooks (10,025), amusement and recreation attendants (9,310), and construction laborers (7,934). Together, these occupations illustrate how employers across landscaping, hospitality, recreation, forestry, construction, and other seasonal industries use the labor certification process to address recurring workforce shortages during predictable periods of peak demand.

Where Non-Farm Industries Rely Most on Seasonal Foreign Labor

Non-agricultural jobs dominate seasonal foreign hiring in New England, while agricultural hubs like California and Washington have the lowest share

Source: Manifest Law analysis of U.S. Department of Labor data

The balance between agricultural and non-agricultural seasonal foreign labor varies considerably across the United States, reflecting differences in regional economies and industry composition. New England stands out as the region where employers rely most heavily on the H-2B program, with non-agricultural occupations accounting for the overwhelming majority of seasonal foreign labor requests. By contrast, many of the country's largest agricultural producers—including California and Washington—depend far more heavily on H-2A workers, resulting in some of the nation's lowest shares of non-agricultural seasonal labor demand.

Rhode Island has the highest concentration of non-agricultural seasonal labor requests, with 98.9% of requested workers tied to H-2B occupations. Alaska follows at 95.6%, while Massachusetts (91.4%), New Hampshire (84.2%), Maine (82.5%), and Vermont (78.8%) also rank among the states where seasonal foreign labor is overwhelmingly concentrated outside agriculture. Many of these states have relatively small agricultural sectors but significant demand from industries such as tourism, hospitality, landscaping, forestry, seafood processing, and recreation, all of which commonly rely on H-2B workers during peak seasons.

At the other end of the spectrum, agricultural states account for the lowest shares of non-agricultural seasonal labor demand. Just 6.3% of Washington's seasonal foreign labor requests are tied to H-2B occupations, followed by California at 7.7%, Georgia at 14.1%, New Mexico at 17.0%, and North Dakota at 19.6%. In these states, demand is driven primarily by H-2A requests supporting crop production and other agricultural operations, illustrating how regional industry specialization shapes employers' reliance on the nation's two seasonal foreign worker programs.

Which States Request the Most Seasonal Foreign Labor?

Seasonal foreign labor requests make up the largest workforce share in Gulf and Northwest border states

Source: Manifest Law analysis of U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data

Seasonal foreign labor demand is most concentrated in a mix of agricultural and Gulf Coast states, where certified labor requests account for a comparatively large share of the local workforce. Measured by requested workers per 10,000 resident employees, North Dakota ranks first with 179 requested seasonal foreign workers, followed by South Dakota (132), Idaho (111), Louisiana (104), and Montana (95). Other states with relatively high concentrations include Mississippi (87), Washington (83), Georgia (81), Maine (79), and Florida (74). Although these states rely on different industries—from agriculture in the Great Plains and Pacific Northwest to seafood, hospitality, and tourism along the Gulf Coast—they share a common reliance on seasonal labor to meet recurring workforce shortages.

The ranking shifts when measured by the total number of requested seasonal foreign workers rather than workforce concentration. Florida leads the nation with 78,647 requested workers in certified labor cases, followed by Georgia (42,337), California (38,377), Texas (37,128), and Washington (32,099). Large populations and diverse economies allow many of these states to generate substantial demand even when seasonal foreign labor represents a smaller share of the overall workforce than in less populous states.

The metropolitan data further illustrates how seasonal labor demand is often concentrated in agricultural communities. Among all metropolitan and micropolitan areas, Othello, Washington, recorded the nation's highest concentration, with 11,482 requested seasonal foreign workers per 10,000 resident employees. Other leading communities include Clewiston, Florida (5,947), Arcadia, Florida (5,386), Moses Lake, Washington (4,976), and Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, Washington (2,666). These communities are major agricultural production centers where seasonal hiring demand can approach or even exceed the size of the local resident workforce during peak growing seasons.

That pattern extends across larger metropolitan areas as well, although at lower concentrations. Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater, Florida, ranks first among large metropolitan areas with 137 requested seasonal foreign workers per 10,000 resident employees, while Naples–Marco Island, Florida, leads midsize metros with 510. Together, the metro-level rankings demonstrate that seasonal foreign labor demand is often shaped by highly localized industries, with agricultural regions generating especially large concentrations of certified labor requests relative to the size of their resident workforce.

This analysis was conducted by researchers at Manifest Law using certified labor certification data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification Performance Data and employment estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program.

Here is a summary of the data for Oregon:

• Seasonal foreign labor demand per 10k employees: 44
• Total seasonal foreign labor demand: 9,132
• Total seasonal foreign agricultural labor demand: 3,747
• Total seasonal foreign non-agricultural labor demand: 5,385
• Local resident workforce: 2,095,910

For reference, here are the statistics for the entire United States:

• Seasonal foreign labor demand per 10k employees: 53
• Total seasonal foreign labor demand: 863,900
• Total seasonal foreign agricultural labor demand: 654,518
• Total seasonal foreign non-agricultural labor demand: 209,382
• Local resident workforce: 164,523,170

For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, see U.S. Cities and States Most Reliant on Seasonal Foreign Labor on Manifest Law.