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 December 11, 2024.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be moderate for Livestock labourers (NOC 85100) in Alberta for the 2024-2026 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a few new positions.
• A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

• Occupations in agriculture continue to be in demand due to difficulties with recruitment and retention in the sector.
• Employment in agriculture has been on the decline since 2013, decreasing by 32% from 2013 to 2023.
• The risk of droughts may cause financial hardship for some farm operations and impact employment opportunities. 

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

Job prospects elsewhere in Canada

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

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