Study estimates shortage of nearly 60,000 workers
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
According to data collected by the Conference Board of Canada for the Canadian Agriculture Human Resource Council (CAHRC), the country’s ag industry is short by 59,000 workers.
As a result, producers’ wallets are taking a hit.
“Annual farm cash receipt losses to Canadian producers due to job vacancies are $1.5 B or three per cent of the industry’s total value in sales and production,” the CAHRC said.
Approximately one in 12 jobs in Canadian agriculture is unfilled whereas other industries see a ratio of about one in 36 jobs going unfilled; British Columbia and Ontario have the largest labour gaps in the country with respect to agriculture.
Portia MacDonald-Dewhirst, CAHRC’s Executive Director, called the situation critical and unless addressed, will get worse; if the situation isn’t confronted, estimates show the agriculture industry could be short as many as 114,000 jobs by 2025.
One of the potential reasons for the labour shortage is the diminishing number of immigrants who land work in the agriculture industry.
Conference Board of Canada’s Michael Burt told ipolitics.ca that about three per cent of immigrants making their way to Canada over the last five years have worked in agriculture, when the number should be around four per cent.
According to data from Stats Canada, agriculture employed approximately 294,000 people in 2015 and the industry as a whole reached a net cash income of nearly $15 billion.
Looking for a job in agriculture? Visit AgCareers.com.