Food and beverage sector sees softening demand for workers

Job vacancies in food and beverage manufacturing fell to 2019 levels this year, but softening demand for workers isn’t necessarily a positive sign says Farm Credit Canada.

Among food manufacturers, job vacancies fell nearly 32 per cent in 2024, while the number of payroll employees fell almost five per cent, wrote FCC senior economist Amanda Norris in a Dec. 18 report. This led to a job vacancy rate of 2.6 per cent.

Despite less competition for workers, wages offered for food manufacturing jobs rose 9.2 per cent year over year.

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Beverage manufacturers saw a drop in vacancies of about 21 per cent, while the number of payroll employees rebounded after two years of declines, Norris wrote. This led to an increased labour demand of nearly seven per cent. However, wages offered for these jobs fell 0.2 per cent year-over-year.

Labourers, process control operators and industrial butchers were the most common job vacancies, but the number of openings has reached or fallen below 2019 levels.

Norris said softening demand for workers doesn’t necessarily predict positive tidings. The sector is ending the year with flat sales, and wages are rising to catch up with inflation. FCC predicted stronger sales growth in 2025, but also rising wages.

“Coupled with the uncertainty around both domestic demand and exports, businesses may be more hesitant to expand their workforce,” Norris wrote. “Uncertain times have led to paused investment plans, which does not bode well for the sector’s productivity.”

The food and beverage sector may also face additional labour challenges, as the percentage of its workforce over the age of 55 reached 28 per cent this year.

The federal government has also clamped down on levels of temporary foreign worker employment. Though food and beverage manufacturers are exempt from current program tweaks, FCC said further changes can’t be ruled out.

“We’re expecting a tight labour supply to keep wage growth strong, resulting in tight margins for the food and beverage manufacturing industry in 2025,” Norris said.