Ag jobs boom peaks as help wanted ads decrease
Doubts over the scale of the agriculture worker shortage have emerged with new data suggesting the number of job vacancies has fallen dramatically.
Doubts over the scale of current worker shortages across the agriculture sector have emerged with new data suggesting the number of job vacancies has fallen dramatically.
One year ago, farm leaders at the federal government’s Jobs and Skills Summit reported a then-shortage of 172,000 workers across the food supply chain.
However, while that figure has been repeated throughout the past 12 months, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations has estimated the current number of advertised job vacancies relating to agriculture “is in the range of 5000 to 10,000.”
The labour force figure was arrived at given agriculture’s share of the workforce is normally no more than 2 per cent and current Australian Bureau of Statistics data suggests just over 430,000 current vacancies across the economy.
Latest Labour Market Insights data shows 300,900 people were employed in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector in February, with a most recent low of 289,900 in May 2022 and a high of 366,000 in August 2020.
Meanwhile, the Rimfire Resources’ 2023 Agribusiness HR Review indicates the agriculture industry jobs boom has peaked, with chief operating officer Mick Hay saying the number of jobs being advertised across agriculture had returned to pre-covid levels.
“Things have changed dramatically in the market (in the last year), we had just gone through three years of peak production and intense skills shortages,” he said.
However, Mr Hay said a downward turning of the economy and weather had seen a large drop in commodity prices, demand and, subsequently, job ads, along with some employers having now filled vacant positions.
The Rimfire review found 35 per cent of new recruits in the 12 months to May had arrived from overseas, an increase from 22 per cent in 2022.
The report also found 57 per cent of businesses intended to increase workforce size in the next 12 months, down from 68.5 per cent last year.
However, as the data is an overall snapshot, some industries, such as processing, remain severely impacted by shortages while others are no longer feeling the extreme pinch.
National Farmers’ Federation chief executive Tony Mahar said the nature of agriculture workforce demands also fluctuated significantly and workforce pressures would likely ramp up again when summer harvest begins.
“It’s a huge frustration of the NFF’s that decent workforce figures are not easily available,” he said.
“Yes, people are coming in again, but access to visa programs is going backwards, the PALM (the Pacific Labour Mobility Scheme) is in free fall, the government is going to cut off backpackers, and major changes to the skilled visa setting are likely to return the backlog.
“We wouldn’t be surprised if in six months the agricultural sector is back at 2021 Covid levels or worse.”
The NFF is also concerned the government’s new workplace reforms will increase red tape, cost, complexity and see union officials potentially enter farms without notice.
According to internet Vacancy Index data for the three months to July, there were 230 vacancies for mixed crop and livestock farm workers and 200 for crop farm workers.
Meanwhile, an AUSVEG member survey released last week reported 72 per cent were currently experiencing workforce shortages and 45 per cent rated their future viability with current workforce shortages as ‘poor to very poor’.
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