ABARES executive director Jared Greenville said the report showed a fall in the number of farms struggling to find workers.
“Almost 34 per cent of horticulture farms had difficulty in recruiting workers in 2022-23, down from 57 per cent in 2021-22,” Dr Greenville said.
“We’ve also seen a shift in the number of workers used by Australian horticulture farms.”
The monthly average number of workers used by horticulture farms increased by around 1500 people between 2021-22 and 2022-23 to reach 118,400 workers.
Peak seasonal figures also improved, with an extra 5100 workers in 2022-23 raising the number of workers in Australian horticulture to more than 130,000.
“This modest rise marks a turnaround from consecutive falls in the number of workers used over the preceding three years.
“The increase was primarily driven by the return of overseas working holiday makers and, to a lesser extent, permanent workers,” Mr Greenville said.
However, the NFF Horticulture Council was critical of the Federal Government and said on Tuesday, November 26 that the report highlighted failures in the labour market that the Working Holiday Maker and PALM scheme were aimed to address.
The council’s executive officer Richard Shannon said the findings needed to be considered in their ‘proper context’.
“The baseline (was) during the COVID-19 pandemic when labour challenges were particularly acute,” Mr Shannon said.
“What is perhaps most notable is that despite backpackers returning en masse in 2022-23, and now at record highs, 34 per cent of employers were still struggling to recruit enough labour.”
Mr Shannon said the smaller number of businesses struggling to find workers and overall rise in employment numbers were a ‘bright spot’.
“We have obviously benefited greatly from the relaxation of controls that had stopped the movement of workers between countries,” he said.
“What this highlights is the critical role that backpackers, in particular, play in meeting these shortfalls.”
The ABARES report said the largest horticulture farms which had borne the brunt of the labour losses during the pandemic were hiring the extra workers.
Dr Greenville said farmers had found ways around the net decline in workers such as increasing the number of hours worked, using farm machinery and contracting workers through hire firms.
“Nearly two-thirds of contract horticulture workers were employed through labour hire firms during peak ... periods in 2022-23.”
The ABARES report was based on a survey of more than 2000 horticulture farms across Australia.
For the full report, visit: https://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/research-topics/agricultural-workforce/labour-use/2023
