Exploring Candidate and Job Trends during National Ag Week
By Bonnie Johnson, AgCareers.com
National Ag Week celebrates agriculture and encourages people to consider career opportunities in the industry. Data from AgCareers.com’s latest Job Outlook Report highlights the vast opportunities available as well as interest in agricultural careers.
For nine years, AgCareers.com has analyzed candidate and job posting trends in the agricultural industry for the annual Job Report. The newest edition is available now, with encouraging data. Despite the challenging agricultural economic climate, there were still nearly 60,000 jobs openings posted on AgCareers.com in 2016. Data also shows increased interest in agricultural careers, as AgCareers.com experienced more visits and candidate applications in 2016.
Job Trends
On average, 5,000 North American jobs were posted on AgCareers.com each month in 2016. In the United States, the largest number of jobs was posted in the Midwest region, while in Canada the Prairies region (Manitoba & Saskatchewan) was the highest.
Job listings on AgCareers.com are categorized in one of 25 different industry types. When we look across all regions in North America, “Plant & Soil Sciences, Seed and Biotechnology” was the leading industry type, while “Crop Production” was a close 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 2016, followed by “Farm & Ranch Operations/Herdsperson/On Farm” careers.
*As posted on AgCareers.com in 2016
Candidate Trends
There is increased interest among candidates to pursue careers in agriculture and use AgCareers.com in the job search process. Subscribership to this weekly e-newsletter was up 18% last year. Almost 9,000 new resumes were added to the AgCareers.com database in 2016.
AgCareers.com processed more than 100,000 applications through the site in 2016, an increase of 15% from 2015. Sixty percent of these applicants had a bachelor’s degree or higher and 49% had an ag-based degree. Nearly half of applicants were currently or most recently in an ag occupation, while just over 10% 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, 33% 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:
2016 U.S. Agribusiness Job Report