Employment growth in the agri-food sector: dynamics in the United States and Canada

The North American agri-food sector stands out as a structuring pillar of the labor market. Driven by challenges related to food security, industrialization, and changing consumption patterns, it currently mobilizes several million workers across the entire value chain.
Beyond volumes, the current dynamic primarily reflects a transformation in skill requirements, with increasing technical complexity in roles and growing tensions in certain key segments.

United States: a massive and growing ecosystem

In the United States, the agri-food sector represents a particularly structuring employment base.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), approximately 22.1 million people work in food-related sectors, accounting for more than 10% of the country’s total employment.

The distribution of jobs highlights a strong concentration in consumer-facing activities:

  • Food service and restaurants: approximately 12.5 million jobs (nearly 57%)
  • Food retail: approximately 3.3 million jobs
  • Food processing: approximately 1.7 million jobs
  • Agricultural production: approximately 2.6 million jobs

This structure underscores a key point: while industrial processing represents a smaller share of employment, it concentrates strategic challenges in terms of productivity, innovation, and expertise.

Canada: sustained growth constrained by labor challenges

In Canada, the agri-food sector also plays a major role in employment. According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, it accounts for approximately 2.3 million jobs, or nearly 1 in 9 jobs in the country.

The distribution of jobs follows a pattern similar to that of the United States, with a strong presence of downstream activities:

  • Food service and restaurants: approximately 1.2 million jobs
  • Food retail: approximately 700,000 jobs
  • Food processing: approximately 300,000 jobs
  • Agricultural production: approximately 230,000 jobs

Food processing is the largest manufacturing sector in Canada, both in terms of GDP and employment:

17.2% of manufacturing GDP
17.6% of manufacturing employment

However, this dynamic faces a major challenge: labor shortages. According to an analysis by CIBC, the Canadian agricultural sector could face a shortage of tens of thousands of workers, directly limiting its growth capacity.

Employment growth driven by the transformation of roles

On both sides of the border, the agri-food sector shares common trends:

  • A solid industrial foundation, supported by significant employment volumes across the entire value chain
  • An organization structured by sectors, with a central role for food processing in sector balances
  • Persistent recruitment tensions, particularly in operational roles

Sources:

  • Economic Research Service, “Agriculture and its related industries provide 10.4 percent of U.S. employment”. ers.usda.gov
  • Economic Research Service, “Ag and Food Sectors and the Economy”. ers.usda.gov
  • Government of Canada, “Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada”. agriculture.canada.ca
  • CIBC, “Labour shortages in Canada’s agriculture sector are holding back growth”. thoughtleadership.cibc.com

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