Recently, AgCareers.com completed their overlook of the 2022 year to see what the trends were in the United States and Canada in terms of hiring, availability of jobs and retention in the agriculture industry. The report pointed out a few trending shifts.
“Employers posted over 62,000 jobs on AgCareers.com in 2022, an increase of 12 per cent,” the site said in a Linkedin post about the report. “When we examined all jobs, ‘Chemical, Pesticide and Fertilizer,’ was the leading industry sector and ‘Sales/Retail’ was the top career type. Looking at volume of jobs and growth, ‘Business Development/Strategic Management,’ ‘Transportation/ Truck Driver,’ and ‘Researcher/Research and Development’ were trending careers.”
But, more noticeably, the trend of remote work continues to increase, the report noted. AgCareers reports the number of employers posting positions in a remote/work-from-home setting increased over 300 per cent from 2020 to 2022 due to the pandemic impact. However, the growth trend continues to climb — this year, remote work increased by 34 per cent.
In addition, not only are more jobs being posted as remote work friendly, but candidates continue to look for remote opportunities, the repot said.
“When we examine job seekers’ keyword searches on www.AgCareers.com, ‘remote’ took over the top spot in 2022, a direct response to the pandemic’s influence on work-from-home availability, needs and job seeker expectations,” AgCareers reported. “Worldwide, there were over 10,000 searches for ‘remote’ on AgCareers.com, up 40 per cent from 2021. Employers that can offer a virtual office environment for some or all positions benefit by promoting this in the job announcement.”
For those positions that need to be in-person, AgCareers suggests emphasizing the benefits of onsite collaborative teamwork supplemented with flexibility, the report said.
The key findings in Canada are:
- There’s an outlook for growth. Overall, 55.91 per cent of companies anticipate an increase in the size of their workforce.
- The labour market continues to intensify and pose challenges for employers. Companies surveyed noted finding applicants with the required skill was the top reason for their recruiting difficulties.
- Sales positions are in demand and, like in previous years, continue to be the most difficult type of role to fill. Sales roles are reported as the top position that companies hope to fill with new graduates.
Key takeaways from the U.S. were:
- Retention practices continue to be a top priority. Companies report regular pay increases for current employees and flexible work schedules.
- Flexible work schedules are a top priority, as 55 per cent of employees polled prefer a hybrid schedule. It continues to be a way for employers to attract and retain talent.
- Hourly roles are and continue to be the most difficult to fill.
- There’s an increase in graduate recruitment — 68.35 per cent of companies plan to do more graduate recruitment.
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