Agriculture remains a major employer, but workforce skills and job quality are moving at different speeds across regions. In developing economies, 38% of agricultural workers were under 35 in 2023, yet only 28% of agricultural workers in low and middle income countries had received formal agriculture training in 2020. This article connects that skills gap to informality rates, climate losses, and technology that reshapes labor demand.
Key Takeaways
- In developing countries, women make up 47% of the agricultural workforce, but they are underrepresented in training and extension services
- Global agricultural employment falls by about 1.7% per year on average (employment share decline over time), reflecting structural transformation
- In 2023, 38% of the world’s agricultural workers were under 35 years old in developing economies (age group share)
- In 2023, informal employment in lower-middle-income countries was 66% of total employment
- U.S. agricultural producers used $5.5 billion in 2023 for agricultural labor and related services (value of expenditures)
- Global precision agriculture market size was $10.8 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $20.3 billion by 2030 (automation affecting labor)
- In 2023, the global agricultural robotics market was valued at $3.9 billion
- In 2021, global food loss and waste amounted to about 931 million tonnes of food
- In 2022, climate-related disasters caused an estimated $343 billion in losses globally, affecting agriculture-related employment
- In the EU, the seasonal nature of agricultural employment leads to large month-to-month employment swings; temporary agency work exceeded 500,000 placements in horticulture in 2022
Agriculture employment is shifting as informal work dominates, youth share rises, and technology and climate reshape labor needs.
Related reading
01 · Category
Demographics & Skills5 stats
01
In developing countries, women make up 47% of the agricultural workforce, but they are underrepresented in training and extension services
02
Global agricultural employment falls by about 1.7% per year on average (employment share decline over time), reflecting structural transformation
03
In 2023, 38% of the world’s agricultural workers were under 35 years old in developing economies (age group share)
04
In 2020, only 28% of agricultural workers in low- and middle-income countries had received any formal training relevant to agriculture
05
In the United States, 2.5% of the labour force was employed in farming, fishing and forestry occupations in 2023
Interpretation
Demographics & Skills Interpretation
Across the Demographics and Skills lens, agriculture in developing economies is both aging and undertrained, with 38% of workers under 35 in 2023 but only 28% having any formal agriculture-relevant training in 2020.
02 · Category
Informality & Wages1 stats
01
In 2023, informal employment in lower-middle-income countries was 66% of total employment
Interpretation
Informality & Wages Interpretation
In 2023, informal employment accounted for 66% of total employment in lower-middle-income countries, underscoring how widespread informality remains in agriculture and likely suppresses more stable and higher wages for workers in this segment.
More related reading
03 · Category
Productivity & Technology9 stats
01
U.S. agricultural producers used $5.5 billion in 2023 for agricultural labor and related services (value of expenditures)
02
Global precision agriculture market size was $10.8 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $20.3 billion by 2030 (automation affecting labor)
03
In 2023, the global agricultural robotics market was valued at $3.9 billion
04
In 2022, the global market for farm management software reached $1.6 billion
05
In 2019, adopters of precision agriculture in the U.S. reported median yield increases of about 5% (meta-analysis estimate)
06
A 2017 meta-analysis found that precision agriculture can reduce fertilizer use by an average of 7% while maintaining or increasing yields
07
In a 2020 study, mechanized harvesting reduced labor requirements by 35% compared with manual harvesting for comparable crops
08
In 2023, there were 12.1 million people employed as agricultural service contractors globally (indicative sub-sector employment)
09
In 2021, annual labor productivity in agriculture improved in OECD countries with a median growth of 1.7% (ag productivity indicator)
Interpretation
Productivity & Technology Interpretation
On the Productivity & Technology front, agriculture is steadily scaling automation with the precision agriculture market projected to grow from $10.8 billion in 2022 to $20.3 billion by 2030 and corresponding evidence that adopters can raise yields by about 5% and cut fertilizer use by around 7% while staying productive.
04 · Category
Industry Trends14 stats
01
In 2021, global food loss and waste amounted to about 931 million tonnes of food
02
In 2022, climate-related disasters caused an estimated $343 billion in losses globally, affecting agriculture-related employment
03
In the EU, the seasonal nature of agricultural employment leads to large month-to-month employment swings; temporary agency work exceeded 500,000 placements in horticulture in 2022
04
In the United States, H-2A visas accounted for 284,000 positions in FY 2023 (seasonal agricultural work)
05
In FY 2022, H-2A visas accounted for about 260,000 positions (seasonal agricultural work)
06
In 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported employment levels of farmworkers and agricultural workers as 1.3 million people in agricultural production occupations
07
In 2023, the U.S. BLS reported employment for agricultural equipment operators at about 275,000 jobs
08
In 2023, the U.S. BLS reported employment for graders and sorters, agricultural products at about 45,000 jobs
09
In 2022, global greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land use were estimated at 16.0 billion tonnes CO2e
10
In 2023, at least 15.5 million people were employed in agri-food systems in EU countries in related value chain roles (broad agri-food employment indicator)
11
In 2021, FAO estimated that 33% of rural households were engaged in agriculture and related work for income
12
In 2020, the share of employment in agriculture among total employment declined by 0.9 percentage points in developing regions (trend indicator)
13
In 2023, global demand for food projected growth supported labor demand; FAO projects food production to increase by 1.1% per year through 2030
14
In 2023, 75% of farms worldwide are family farms, shaping labor organization and employment structures
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry Trends in agriculture employment are being shaped by both persistent seasonal demand and rising shocks, as global food loss and waste reached 931 million tonnes in 2021 and climate related disasters drove an estimated $343 billion in losses in 2022 while seasonal farm work in the United States supported about 284,000 H-2A positions in FY 2023 and farmworker and agricultural worker employment stood at roughly 1.3 million people in 2023.
report visual · Key figures
Agriculture employment: long-run structural shift
Agriculture employment is shrinking over time, even as labor demand is supported by projected food production growth; meanwhile, youth underrepresentation signals workforce transition.
1.7%
Global agricultural employment falls by about 1.7% per year on average (employment share decline over time), reflecting
2020
In 2020, the share of employment in agriculture among total employment declined by 0.9 percentage points in developing r
1.1%
In 2023, global demand for food projected growth supported labor demand; FAO projects food production to increase by 1.1
38%
In 2023, 38% of the world’s agricultural workers were under 35 years old in developing economies (age group share)
source-verifiedfao.org2023
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Ryan Townsend. (2026, February 13). Agriculture Employment Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/agriculture-employment-statistics
MLA
Ryan Townsend. "Agriculture Employment Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/agriculture-employment-statistics.
Chicago
Ryan Townsend. 2026. "Agriculture Employment Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/agriculture-employment-statistics.
Sources & references
29 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+15 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)