Wyoming: The annual average wage rate for all hired labor on Wyoming farms and ranches in 2006 was $8.42 per hour, according to Vito Wagner with the Wyoming Field Office of USDA NASS. The average wage was up 26 cents from the 2005 average of $8.16 per hour. The annual average rate is based on data collected during four surveys conducted in January, April, July, and October. The annual average wage rate for field workers was $7.90 in 2006, compared with $8.15 in 2005. The combined wage rate for field and livestock workers, excluding supervisors and other workers, was $7.59 in 2006, up from $7.49 in 2005.

For the tri-state region (Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho) the annual average wage rate was $9.25 per hour in 2006, up 40 cents (5 percent) from 2005. Field workers were paid an average of $8.77 and the combined field and livestock wage was $8.76 per hour in 2006. This compares with $8.27 and $8.47 respectively in 2005. There was an average of 23,500 hired workers during 2006, unchanged from 2005. The average number of hours worked by all hired labor in 2004 was 42.9 hours per week, compared with 46.0 hours per week a year earlier.

United States: The 2006 annual average number of hired workers for the Nation was 751,800 workers, down 4 percent from 2005. The annual average number of hours worked during the week was 40.5 in 2006, up from 40.1 in 2005.

The 2006 U.S. all hired worker annual average wage rate was $9.87, up 4 percent from the 2005 annual average wage rate of $9.51. The U.S. field worker annual average wage rate was $9.06, up 36 cents from last year's annual average. The field and livestock worker combined annual average wage rate at the U.S. level was $9.15, up 4 percent from last year's annual average wage rate of $8.84.