The state of labour in agriculture and agri-food

This page contains relevant information and data on the state of labour in the agriculture and agri-food sector. If you have any comments or questions, please e-mail aafc.labour-main-doeuvre.aac@agr.gc.ca.

Labour Strategy (2023)

On May 18, 2023, the Government released a report that summarizes what Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) heard during consultations with stakeholders on the development of the Agricultural Labour Strategy.

Job vacancies in the sector

Job vacancy rates for each of the agriculture and agri-food subsectors decreased in 2023 relative to 2022 (an average decline of 27%). 2023 job vacancy rates for animal production and agriculture (3.9%), food manufacturing (3.6%), beverage and tobacco product manufacturing (3.8%), and food and beverage retailers (3.6%), were below the job vacancy rate for the entire economy (4.2%). The job vacancy rate for food service and drinking places remains high relative to historic trends but declined 30% in 2023 compared to 2022 (to 7.1% from 10.2%). Finally, crop production has continued its very strong job vacancy rate decline since 2015, and is now just 17% higher than the rate for the entire economy (compared with 252% higher in 2015).

Overview of job vacancy rates for 2023

Category	Subsector (three-digit North American Industry Classification System code)	Job vacancy rate in 2023 (%)^{Table 1 note 1}
Primary agriculture	Crop production (111)	4.9
Primary agriculture	Animal production and aquaculture (112)	3.9
Food and beverage processing	Food manufacturing (311)	3.6
Food and beverage processing	Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing (312)	3.8
Retail and food service	Food and beverage retailers (445)	3.6
Retail and food service	Food services and drinking places (722)	7.1
Canadian economy	All industries	4.2
Table 1 Note [1] Results from the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey (JVWS) are reported quarterly. Annual figures are averages of all quarters from 2023. Data quality is generally high at the three-digit level – please contact aafc.labour-main-doeuvre.aac@agr.gc.ca for additional details. Return to Table 1 note 1 referrer

Job vacancy rate trends (2015-2023)

Description of this image follows — **Figure 1: Job vacancy rates in three-digit subsectors and the Canadian economy (2015-2023)^{Table 2 note 1}**

Year	Crop production (111)(%)	Animal production and aquaculture (112)(%)	Food manufacturing (311)(%)	Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing (312)(%)	Food and beverage stores (445)(%)	Food service and drinking places (722)(%)	Canadian economy (all industries)(%)
2015	8.0	2.9	2.9	2.9	2.7	4.8	2.6
2016	6.7	2.4	2.9	2.9	2.0	4.1	2.4
2017	7.5	2.7	3.5	2.9	2.5	4.6	2.8
2018	9.00	3.3	3.8	3.6	2.5	4.8	3.2
2019	8.8	3.6	3.8	3.8	2.7	4.9	3.2
2020	6.7	3.9	3.7	3.0	3.1	4.7	3.3
2021	7.0	4.0	5.4	5.2	3.8	9.8	4.7
2022	6.4	4.5	5.8	5.1	4.8	10.2	5.4
2023	4.9	3.9	3.6	3.8	3.6	7.1	4.2

Greater variation is observed as industries are further broken down, with the largest vacancy rates concentrated in food service and horticulture. Data quality varies at the four-digit NAICS level, resulting in some four-digit industries being excluded from this list. This includes Fruit and Tree Nut Farming (1113) which likely had the highest job vacancy rate among four-digit industry groups, but was excluded because of insufficient fourth quarter data for that industry.

Industry group job vacancy rates in 2023 (four-digit NAICS code)

Industry group (four-digit NAICS code)	Job vacancy rates in 2023 (%)^{Table 3 note 1}
Full-service restaurants and limited service eating places (7225)	7.2
Other animal production (1129)	7.1
Other crop farming (1119)	6.3
Vegetable and melon farming (1112)	6.0
Support activities for animal production (1152)	5.9
Special food services (7223)	5.5
Support activities for crop production (1151)	5.2
Specialty food stores (4452)	4.9
Seafood product preparation and packaging (3117)	4.9
Farm, lawn and garden machinery and equipment merchant wholesalers (4171)	4.7
Note: Full list of industries and job vacancy numbers. Insufficient data to report the following industries: 1113, 1124, 1125, 3122, 3123, 3253, 4132, 4133, 4134. Table 3 Note [1] Job vacancy rates are reported quarterly. Annual figures are averages of all available quarters from each year. Data quality varies at the four-digit NAICS level—please contact aafc.labour-main-doeuvre.aac@agr.gc.ca for additional details. Return to Table 3 note 1 referrer

About the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey

The data in this section comes from the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey (JVWS), which is conducted by Statistics Canada. The JVWS provides reliable, comparable data on job vacancies and wages to support decision making by job seekers, employers, and policymakers. It is conducted on a stratified random sample of approximately 100,000 business locations drawn quarterly. Find more information about the survey.

The job vacancy rate is the share of vacancies from total labour need (vacancies plus the employed).

Data is presented by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes at the three-digit and four-digit levels. Find more information on NAICS codes.

Additional JVWS data is available by occupation.

The role of temporary foreign workers^{Endnote 2}

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) has provided a reliable source of labour for Canadian agriculture since the 1960s. In recent years, the number of Temporary Foreign Workers^{Endnote 2} (TFWs) working in primary agriculture and food and beverage manufacturing have grown steadily, allowing employers to fill labour needs when Canadians and permanent residents are not available. In 2023, just over 70,000 TFWs worked in primary agriculture industries in Canada, and just over 45,000 TFWs worked in food and beverage manufacturing industries.

Temporary foreign workers in primary agriculture and food and beverage manufacturing (2017-2023)

Year	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Primary agriculture	53,842	56,919	53,605	55,171	60,992	64,660	70,267
Food and beverage manufacturing	20,115	23,635	25,555	28,384	32,740	41,204	45,428

Temporary foreign workers by province (2023)

Temporary foreign workers were welcomed to every province in 2023, but most were employed in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia.

Figure 3: Temporary foreign workers by province in primary agriculture and food and beverage manufacturing (2023)^{Table 4 note 1}

	Canada	NL	PEI	NS	NB	QC	ON	MB	SK	AB	BC
Primary agriculture	70,267	82	492	1,579	388	23,295	29,048	809	813	2,791	10,970
Food and beverage manufacturing	45,428	373	704	1,330	2,746	11,523	16,739	1,875	398	2,790	6,996
Table 4 Note [1] 2023 figures are preliminary and may be revised by Statistics Canada. Return to Table 4 note 1 referrer

Additional data on temporary foreign workers

Temporary foreign worker data is published annually by Statistics Canada. Additional data on TFWs by industry, farm revenues, and countries of citizenship for TFWs in the agricultural sector are available.

Annex A: All industries with four-digit NAICS codes

Industries with four-digit NAICS codes	Job vacancy rate in 2023(%)^{Table 5 note 1}	Job vacancies in 2023 (approximate)^{Table 5 note 1}
7225 - Full-service restaurants and limited service eating places	7.2	79316
1129 - Other animal production	7.1	544
1119 - Other crop farming	6.3	949
1112 - Vegetable and melon farming	6.0	983
1152 - Support activities for animal production	5.9	396
7223 - Special food services	5.5	2679
1151 - Support activities for crop production	5.2	485
3117 - Seafood product preparation and packaging	4.9	945
4452 - Specialty food stores	4.9	3013
4171 - Farm, lawn and garden machinery and equipment merchant wholesalers	4.7	1081
1122 - Hog and pig farming	4.5	396
4453 - Beer, wine and liquor stores	4.4	2483
1114 - Greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production	4.3	2233
7224 - Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	4.3	1136
3116 - Meat product manufacturing	4.2	3145
3121 - Beverage manufacturing	3.9	1316
4183 - Agricultural supplies merchant wholesalers	3.9	643
3114 - Fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty food manufacturing	3.8	999
3119 - Other food manufacturing	3.7	1438
4131 - Food merchant wholesalers	3.5	4041
3113 - Sugar and confectionary product manufacturing	3.4	478
3118 - Bakeries and tortilla manufacturing	3.4	1489
1123 - Poultry and egg production	3.3	396
4451 - Grocery stores	3.3	14618
3111 - Animal food manufacturing	3.2	344
3112 - Grain and oilseed milling	2.9	235
1121 - Cattle ranching and farming	2.9	919
1111- Oilseed and grain farming	2.8	599
Note: Insufficient data to report the following industries: 1113, 1124, 1125, 3122, 3123, 3253, 4132, 4133, 4134. Table 5 Note [1] Job vacancy rates are reported quarterly. Annual figures are averages of all available quarters from each year. Data quality varies in some sub-sectors at the four-digit NAICS level — please contact aafc.labour-main-doeuvre.aac@agr.gc.ca for additional details. Return to Table 5 note 1 referrer

Endnotes

Endnote 1

Job vacancy rates are reported quarterly. Annual figures are averages of all available quarters from each year. Note: 2015 excludes Q1 due to poor data quality, and 2020 excludes Q2 and Q3 due to Statistics Canada operations being suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Endnote 2

The term "temporary foreign worker" refers to a temporary resident who is working in Canada and receiving a T4 slip (Statement of Remuneration Paid) from an employer in the agriculture and food manufacturing industries. This captures temporary residents who are authorized to work with a work permit (that is, under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program [TFWP] or International Mobility Program [IMP]), as well as those who are authorized to work without a permit, certain study permit holders and those who hold any other type of permit except visitor visas. Permanent residents are not considered foreign workers.

Return to footnote 2 referrer