Features Production Research
Labour market: Field fruit and vegetable industry forecast

The field fruit and vegetable industry is a significant agricultural employer with substantial labour challenges. Over the next decade, those challenges will intensify as a shrinking pool of domestic workers and an increased reliance on foreign workers will make the industry even more vulnerable to labour policy changes and lost sales due to labour shortages.

While the industry has been able to boost its output per worker, by 2025 it will still require an additional 2,400 workers to meet  potential production targets. At the same time, the domestic labour pool is expected to shrink by 1,100 workers.

As a result of the rising demand for labour, the number of jobs that can’t be filled by the domestic labour supply will increase by 3,500 over the next decade. By 2025, the number will reach 10,800, which is 45 per cent of the total workforce and the largest proportion of any agricultural commodity.

While foreign workers have helped the industry fill the gap left by a lack of domestic workers, this solution leaves the industry vulnerable to policy changes and other factors that could reduce or eliminate this labour source. To read the full report, CLICK HERE. 

The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) is a national, non-profit organization focused on addressing human resource issues facing agricultural businesses across Canada.