This report presents current information on the characteristics and work patterns of hired laborers who perform crop work in the United States. Information was obtained from interviews with 4,199 workers in 85 counties between October 1, 1996 and September 30, 1998. Chapters 1-3 provide information about the farmworkers themselves, including demographic characteristics, family composition, national origin, education, literacy, and language proficiency. Chapters 4 and 5 describe the labor force participation of U.S. crop workers and outline the characteristics of farm jobs held by workers in the survey. Chapter 6 contains information on farmworkers' income, assets, and use of social services. The report finds that farmworker wages had stagnated; annual earnings remained below the poverty level; farmworkers experienced chronic underemployment; and the farm workforce increasingly consisted of young, single males who were recent immigrants. Five out of six farmworkers spoke Spanish, farmworkers typically had completed 6 years of education, and just one-tenth of foreign-born farmworkers spoke or read English fluently. The findings indicate a national oversupply of farm labor. A study of the demand for farm labor and how it would change as the supply changed would complement this data and help point the way to an agricultural labor market with stable employment; higher wages; and a legal, domestic workforce. An appendix describes statistical conventions used in this report. (Contains 28 figures and 7 data tables.) (TD)