Pandemic Employment Trends in Canadian Agriculture

Guelph, ON – AgCareers.com continues to survey agricultural employers, candidates and employees to identify pandemic employment trends. AgCareers.com conducted three surveys from mid-March until the end of April to help both employers and candidates in hiring and career decision-making. 

 

 

So far, most Canadian ag employers responding to our surveys have not acted to manage employment numbers within their organization with strategies such as lay-offs, furloughs, etc.; this remained steady over time at 70%. For those that have acted, reallocating staff to other departments remained the most frequent action. The biggest impacts from these changes were to sales and customer service departments. The majority (75%) of organizations felt that they would not need to implement employment management strategies at all during the pandemic. Of these, 25% said their business could financially support current staffing, either independently, or through government assistance. 

 

Regarding summer internship plans, 30% of organizations are proceeding as planned. For organizations with changes to their internship programs, the most common were remote/virtual internships, and delaying interns’ start dates. 

 

 

Although most Canadian employees still say COVID-19 hasn’t changed their employment status, this percentage dropped from 79% to 63%. If there was a change, the most common change remained reduction in work hours. More job seekers and employees say they’re now exploring job options, increasing from 50% in the first survey, to 60% in the latest survey.

 

The most recent survey also asked employees how the pandemic has affected their mental health; 26% said there’s been no change, but 70% said COVID-19 has had a negative impact on their mental health. More than half (60%) of employees said their employer provided communication, education, or support regarding mental health during the last month.  

 

AgCareers.com continues to survey agricultural employees, candidates and employers on the ever-changing nature of COVID-19’s impact on agriculture. AgCareers.com will be identifying trends over time, highlighting key employer and job seeker concerns. Expect additional releases with updated data as it becomes available throughout the pandemic.