There has never been a better time to look and apply for remote job opportunities in the agriculture industry. If you are just beginning your job search or perhaps an employer looking to hire, a recent US study focused on the changing job marketing in agriculture shows some new post-pandemic trends.
The study was conducted from 2020 through 2022 by AgCareers.com. AgCareers.com is a current partner of Farmer Veteran Coalition and is heavily invested in engaging with candidates and employers in the agricultural industry. Part of this investment includes an annual agricultural industry hiring trend analysis to examine careers and candidates in the industry. AgCareers.com just released the 2022 Agriculture & Food Job Report.
The number of positions posted on AgCareers.com by employers in a remote/work-from-home environment increased over 300% from 2020 to 2022, tied closely to the pandemic impact. This growth trend continues to climb with a 34% increase in the past year.
What are Ag Job Seekers Searching For?
Candidates are likewise looking for remote/work-from-home jobs at an escalating rate. When we examine job seekers’ keyword searches on www.AgCareers.com, “remote” took over the top spot in 2022, a direct response to the pandemic’s influence on work-from-home availability, needs and job seeker expectations. Worldwide, there were over 10,000 searches for “remote” on AgCareers.com, up 40% from 2021. Employers that can offer a virtual office environment for some or all positions benefit by promoting this in the job announcement. However, we know that many agricultural positions in production, manufacturing and processing necessitate in-person work. For these positions, employers can emphasize the benefits of on-site collaborative teamwork, supplemented, where possible, with flexibility.
The AgCareers.com website draws applicant traffic from a range of majors and occupations both inside and outside of the agricultural industry; 58% have an ag-based degree and 54% were most recently or currently employed in ag occupations. The highest percentage of these non-ag occupations were in roles with transferable skills applicable to agriculture, such as sales and marketing, or customer service.
What Ag Careers Are Trending?
Employers posted over 62,000 jobs on AgCareers.com in 2022, an increase of 12%. When we examined all jobs, “Chemical, Pesticide and Fertilizer,” was the leading industry sector and “Sales/Retail” was the top career type. Looking at volume of jobs and growth, “Business Development/Strategic Management,” “Transportation/Truck Driver,” and “Researcher/Research and Development” were trending careers.
Farmer Veteran Coalition Partnership
As a part of our partnership, the AgCareers.com job feed is available on our website, https://farmvetco.org/fvc-job-search/ . We encourage you begin your job search, in doing so set up a job search profile on AgCareers.com, indicate that you are an FVC Member, a veteran and all the boxes that apply. This will qualify you for the Ag Warriors program so that companies looking to hire veterans can more easily find you. There is also a support team at AgCareers.com available to assist you a member of FVC.
A U.S. edition of the job report are available. Download your free copy of the full 2022 AgCareers.com Job Report here:
2022 U.S. AgCareers.com Agriculture & Food Job Report
Source: Hiring & Applicant Trend Report in the Agricultural Industry. April 03, 2023. AgCareers.com
