The Canadian labor shortage is expected to double by 2029, reaching 123,000, the Canadian Council on Agriculture said on Tuesday, June 25.
Farmers in Canada have long reported problems in hiring farm workers, as rural work has traditionally been associated with a high degree of manual labor, long working hours, and is often seasonal.
In 2017, there were 16,500 workers in the Canadian agricultural sector, and this labor crisis cost farmers $ 2.9 billion ($ 2.2 billion) in lost income.
“In the coming years, the gap between the labor requirements in the sector and the available domestic labor force is expected to widen significantly, and this trend will create a risk for more agricultural enterprises and seriously limit the growth potential of the sector,” the Canadian Rural Council report said. au pair.
The Council also said that the level of vacancies in the agricultural sector is "the highest of all major sectors of the Canadian economy." About 2 million Canadians are employed in Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector, accounting for 12% of the country's total employment.
