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 email aafc.labour-main-doeuvre.aac@agr.gc.ca.
Job vacancies in the sector
2024 data shows continued improvements in job vacancy rates for the sector, with most subsectors ranking below the average job vacancy rate across the Canadian economy. Crop production and food services and drinking places remain above the Canadian economy average, but continued their strong downward trends.
Overview of job vacancy rates for 2024
Category | Subsector (three-digit North American Industry Classification System code) | Job vacancy rate in 2024 (%)Table 1 note 1 |
|---|---|---|
Primary agriculture | Crop production (111) | 4.0 |
Animal production and aquaculture (112) | 3.0 | |
Food and beverage processing | Food manufacturing (311) | 2.5 |
Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing (312) | 2.9 | |
Retail and food service | Food and beverage retailers (445) | 2.6 |
Food services and drinking places (722) | 4.9 | |
Canadian economy | All industries | 3.3 |
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Job vacancy rate trends (2015-2024)
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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 |
2024 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 4.9 | 3.3 |
Greater variation is observed as industries are further broken down, with the largest vacancy rates concentrated in crop production and food service. 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) and Other animal production (1129) which likely had the highest job vacancy rate among four-digit industry groups, but were excluded because of insufficient data.
Industry group job vacancy rates in 2024 (four-digit NAICS code)
Industry group (four-digit NAICS code) | Job vacancy rates in 2024 (%)Table 3 note 1 |
|---|---|
Full-service restaurants and limited service eating places (7225) | 5.0 |
Vegetable and melon farming (1112) | 4.9 |
Support activities for animal production (1152) | 4.9 |
Support activities for crop production (1151) | 4.8 |
Other crop farming (1119) | 4.5 |
Specialty food stores (4452) | 3.9 |
Hog and pig farming (1122) | 3.7 |
Farm, lawn and garden machinery and equipment merchant wholesalers (4171) | 3.5 |
Greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production (1114) | 3.4 |
Fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty food manufacturing (3114) | 3.2 |
Note: Full list of industries and job vacancy numbers.
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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 workersEndnote 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 WorkersEndnote 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 2024, just over 78,000 TFWs worked in primary agriculture industries in Canada, and just over 42,000 TFWs worked in food and beverage manufacturing industries.
Temporary foreign workers in primary agriculture and food and beverage manufacturing (2017-2024)
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Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Primary agriculture | 53,842 | 56,919 | 53,605 | 55,171 | 60,992 | 64,660 | 79,734 | 78,079 |
Food and beverage manufacturing | 20,115 | 23,635 | 25,555 | 28,384 | 32,740 | 41,204 | 67,436 | 42,119 |
Temporary foreign workers by province (2024)
Temporary foreign workers were welcomed to every province in 2024, 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 (2024)Table 4 note 1
Canada | N.L. | P.E.I. | N.S. | N.B. | Que. | Ont. | Man. | Sask. | Alta. | B.C. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Primary agriculture | 78,079 | 133 | 695 | 1,911 | 583 | 23,644 | 32,585 | 1,034 | 940 | 3,102 | 13,452 |
Food and beverage manufacturing | 42,119 | 349 | 981 | 1,057 | 3,884 | 11,270 | 13,018 | 1,750 | 393 | 3,025 | 6,392 |
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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 2024(%)Table 5 note 1 | Job vacancies in 2024 (approximate)Table 5 note 1 |
|---|---|---|
7225 - Full-service restaurants and limited-service eating places | 5.0 | 49,140 |
1112 - Vegetable and melon farming | 4.9 | 1,981 |
1152 - Support activities for animal production | 4.9 | 944 |
1151 - Support activities for crop production | 4.8 | 1,361 |
1119 - Other crop farming | 4.5 | 2,455 |
4452 - Specialty food stores | 3.9 | 6,798 |
1122 - Hog and pig farming | 3.7 | 1,098 |
4171 - Farm, lawn and garden machinery and equipment merchant wholesalers | 3.5 | 1,937 |
1114 - Greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production | 3.4 | 4,370 |
3114 - Fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty food manufacturing | 3.2 | 2,024 |
3117 - Seafood product preparation and packaging | 3.1 | 1,886 |
4183 - Agricultural supplies merchant wholesalers | 3.1 | 2,006 |
3111 - Animal food manufacturing | 3.0 | 1,630 |
7223 - Special food services | 3.0 | 5,847 |
3113 - Sugar and confectionery product manufacturing | 2.9 | 2,007 |
3112 - Grain and oilseed milling | 2.8 | 826 |
1111 - Oilseed and grain farming | 2.7 | 4,178 |
1123 - Poultry and egg production | 2.7 | 1,788 |
4453 - Beer, wine and liquor stores | 2.7 | 6,717 |
1121 - Cattle ranching and farming | 2.5 | 3,352 |
3118 - Bakeries and tortilla manufacturing | 2.4 | 5,267 |
4451 - Grocery stores | 2.4 | 18,231 |
3116 - Meat product manufacturing | 2.3 | 5,194 |
3119 - Other food manufacturing | 2.3 | 3,589 |
3115 - Dairy product manufacturing | 2.2 | 3,157 |
4131 - Food merchant wholesalers | 2.2 | 6,608 |
Note: Insufficient data to report the following industries: 1113, 1124, 1125, 1129, 3121, 3122, 3123, 3252, 4132, 4133, 4144, 7224.
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