Labour shortages in the horticulture sector have eased slightly, according to a report from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences based on a survey of over 2,000 horticulture farms across Australia.
The survey showed a fall in the number of farms struggling to find workers with almost 34% of horticulture farms having difficulty in recruiting workers in 2022-23, down from 57% in 2021-22.
The survey also indicated there has been a shift in the number of workers used by horticultural farms with the monthly average number of workers used increasing between 2021-22 and 2022-23 by around 1,500 people, rising from 116,900 to 118,400 workers.
However, the labour demand in horticulture is seasonal, but it was pleasing to see the improvements in peak labour use rising by 4% or around 5,100 workers to a peak of 130,300 workers in 2022-23.
This modest rise marks a turnaround from consecutive falls in the number of workers used over the preceding 3 years. The increase was primarily driven by the return of overseas working holiday makers and, to a lesser extent, permanent workers.
These extra workers have largely been hired by the largest horticulture farms, which is understandable as these farms bore the brunt of the total decrease in labour use from 2019-20 to 2021-22.
Horticulture growers have found ways around the net decline in workers. Around 40% of Australian horticulture farms used machinery for fruit picking to reduce their demand for labour in 2022-23. In other instances, the hours worked by existing employees increased.
Farmers have also utilised labour-hire firms to overcome difficulties with filling vacancies, with nearly two-thirds (64%) of contract horticulture workers employed through labour-hire firms during peak work periods in 2022-23, up from 52% in 2019-20.
