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Bonnie Johnson
March 19, 2018
Newsletter Article
We’re celebrating the contribution of agriculture to our everyday lives. This is National Ag Week, an ideal time to recognize the abundance provided by agriculture. If you’re an employer or candidate in the ag industry, now is the time to act based on overall figures from AgCareers.com’s latest Job Outlook Report. Encompassing jobs posted, views, and site traffic data, March happens to be the most important hiring month for employers and an ideal time for candidates to maximize their job search.
The Agribusiness Job Outlook Report highlights the vast opportunities available and encourages people to consider career opportunities in the industry. For ten years, AgCareers.com has analyzed candidate and job posting trends in the agricultural industry for the annual report. The newest edition is available now, highlighting the nearly 125,000 jobs active on AgCareers.com in 2017.
Job Trends
On average, employers posted 5,500 North American jobs on AgCareers.com each month in 2017. In the United States, employers posted the largest number of jobs in the Midwest region, while in Canada the Prairies region (Manitoba & Saskatchewan) was the highest.
Job listings on AgCareers.com are categorized into one of 25 different industry types. When we look at all regions in North America, employers posted the highest number of positions in the “Equipment, Manufacturing & Technical” industry type, while “Chemical, Pesticide and Fertilizer” was second.
Employers also categorize job postings in one of 42 different career types. The “Sales/Retail” career type was the leading category for North America in 2017, followed by “Farm & Ranch Operations/Herdsperson/On Farm” careers.
Candidate Trends
There is increased interest among candidates to pursue careers in agriculture and use AgCareers.com in the job search process. In 2017, the top three searched words on AgCareers.com were “Sales,” “Agronomy,” and “Internship.” Candidates can also search by location, industry, career type and more.
Candidates can streamline their search and application process by setting up a free account, uploading resumes and cover letters, and saving jobs to their accounts. New in 2017, candidates could also set up job alerts. As of January 2018, job seekers had already set up more than 4,000 active job alerts.
Candidates continue their outreach to agricultural employers, adding nearly 6,000 new resumes to the AgCareers.com database in 2017.
When we examined demographic information of applicants on AgCareers.com, we found that 63% of individuals had a bachelor’s degree or higher and 58% had an ag-based degree. 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. Illustrating the diverse array of applicants with experience, 34% had 10-plus years of experience.
For a thorough analysis of job and candidate trends, and data specific to the United States and Canada, download your copy of the full reports:
2017 U.S. Agribusiness Job Report
2017 Canadian Agribusiness Job Report
Start your search for a career in agriculture today at /search.cfm.
Review an in-depth assessment of the agricultural industry in our Careers in Agriculture digital e-book.
National Ag Day is organized by the Agriculture Council of America (ACA). ACA is a nonprofit organization composed of leaders in the agricultural, food and fiber community, dedicating its efforts to increasing the public's awareness of agriculture's role in modern society.
