Agriculture – Who’s Looking and Who’s Hiring?

For 10 years, AgCareers.com has analyzed candidate and job posting trends in the agricultural industry for the annual Job Outlook Report. So, who’s looking (for a job or a new hire)?  The newest edition of the report is available now, with noteworthy trends.

Who’s Hiring
On average, 5,500 North American jobs were posted on AgCareers.com each month in 2017; March was the peak month in the U.S., followed by September. Counting job postings by U.S. region, the largest number was posted in the Midwest region. 

Employers categorize job listings on AgCareers.com by 25 different industry types/sectors and 42 career types.  When we look across all U.S. regions, “Equipment, Manufacturing and Technical” was the leading industry sector hiring, with more than 5,400 positions posted.  “Food & Beverage Products and Processing” was the second largest industry sector with more than 5,200 positions.

The “Sales/Retail” career type moved to the number one spot in the U.S. for 2017, followed by “Farm & Ranch Operations/Herdsperson/On Farm” careers. “Accounting/Finance,” “Operations,” and “Maintenance” rounded out the top five career types.

Who’s Searching
There is increased interest among candidates to pursue careers in agriculture and use AgCareers.com in the job search process. More than 200,000 visits were made to the site each month in 2017. Candidates can search by keyword, location, industry, career type and more. The most popular keyword searches on the site last year were: “Sales,” “Agronomy,” and “Internship.” 

When we examined demographic information of applicants on AgCareers.com, we found that 63% had a bachelor’s degree or higher and 58% had an ag-based degree. Looking specifically at ag degrees, Ag Business/Management/Economics was the most frequent degree for applicants. 

More than half of applicants were currently or most recently in an ag occupation, while 12% were students. Those in non-ag occupations were typically in roles with transferable skills applicable to agriculture, such as sales, customer service or skilled trades. More than half (54%) of applicants were young professionals with less than 5 years of experience, while 12% were students. 

However, illustrating the diverse array of applicants with experience, 34% had 10-plus years of experience. When we examined demographic information of applicants on AgCareers.com, we found that 63% had a bachelor’s degree or higher and 58% had an ag-based degree. Looking specifically at ag degrees, Ag Business/Management/Economics was the most frequent degree for applicants. 

The Agribusiness Job Report contains information based on an analysis of jobs posted on AgCareers.com, job seeker activity on the website, and insight from the employers using our services.

Editor’s Note: Download your free copy of the full 2017 AgCareers.com U.S. Agribusiness Job Report by visiting www.AgCareers.com.  A separate Canadian edition is also available.  For more information contact agcareers@agcareers.com.