“It took a bit of a hit a couple of years ago so it’s already had a bit of a downturn — the farming sector went through quite a big profit squeeze.
“Export prices had fallen and costs had gone up and that had quite a big impact on farm jobs but over the course of the last nine to 12 months, things have really picked up.
“Commodity prices are improving, the New Zealand dollar has fallen — big cost pressures have moderated if not gone away.”
He said it was encouraging to see job numbers improving because much of provincial New Zealand was struggling for employment.
The outlook was positive, he said.
“There’s relatively good weather forecast, commodity prices and the exchange rate are more favourable for exporters — some of the input costs are not rising so much any more.”
Eaqub said some parts of the primary sector would do better than others.
“Forestry is still doing it pretty tough because of the slowdown in China … but farming and dairy, in particular, are looking quite positive.”
Federated Farmers spokesman Richard McIntyre said farmers often said they would hire more people if they could find suitable candidates.
“They’re often running with slightly less employment than they would like.
“In this situation where employment around the country is contracting, there are more suitable candidates available as a result.
“Farmers are stepping in and employing their full desired employment.”
He said it was often hard to get people to move out of urban centres, particularly to more remote areas.
But when there were fewer jobs in town to compete with, it was easier for farmers to hire.
“When they’re a bit more scarce people are a bit more inclined to consider working in a rural setting which is fantastic from our point of view.”
He said the calibre required of farm staff had increased over the past 20 or 30 years.
“You can’t just hire anyone, you have to have someone who has the ability to look after the cows well and the environment as well.”
The pay was competitive, he said, and accommodation would often be supplied with roles.
The 2024 Federated Farmers-Rabobank Farming Salaries Report showed that since 2022, the average salary for a farm worker increased by $7480 to $71,411.
“You don’t have transport costs, you step out of the door and you’re at work.
“If you consider the total value package versus living in town it can be really competitive, if not advantageous.”
He said some areas were still short of workers and could not find enough New Zealanders to hire.
Seek data shows the number of job ads for farming roles was up 20% compared to November 2018.
The only industries that had grown by more were mining, resources and energy and community service and development.
- RNZ
