Job prospects Farm Hand - Livestock in Alberta

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "farm hand - livestock" in Alberta or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Alberta

These outlooks were updated on November 29, 2023.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be moderate for Livestock labourers (NOC 85100) in Alberta for the 2023-2025 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment decline will lead to the loss of some positions.
• Not many positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

Employment in agriculture has been steadily declining since 2013, decreasing by 44% from 2013 to 2022. In the short term, labour shortages due to an ageing workforce may temper the long term prospects.

Here are some key facts about Livestock labourers in Alberta:

• Approximately 6,550 people work in this occupation.
• Livestock labourers mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Agriculture (NAICS 111, 112, 1151, 1152): 72%
  • Arts, entertainment and recreation (NAICS 71): 6%
  • Food, beverage and tobacco product manufacturing (NAICS 311, 312): 6%
  • Wholesale trade (NAICS 41): 6%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 67% compared to 80% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 33% compared to 20% for all occupations
• 60% of livestock labourers work all year, while 40% work only part of the year, compared to 61% and 39% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 41 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• 11% of livestock labourers are self-employed compared to an average of 15% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 57% compared to 53% for all occupations
  • Women: 42% compared to 47% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: 32% compared to 10% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 39% compared to 28% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 7% compared to 13% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 14% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 5% compared to 21% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 9% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Alberta by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "farm hand - livestock" in Alberta or across Canada.

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