Great news!
The 2016 Census data has been released and has found that agriculture employs 60,608 people in Queensland, an increase of 9 percent compared to 2011. This is the equivalent of 5,189 more people employed in agriculture, of which 33 percent are female and 67 percent male.
The Census 2016 showed that Queensland agriculture employment has increased across all regions in the last five years with the exception of Queensland Outback and Darling Downs- Maranoa.
Most agricultural sub-sectors that have increased their level of employment such as:
- Nursery and Floriculture Production up 56 percent increase;
- Fruit and Tree Growing up 24 percent increase;
- Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Support Services up 23 percent.
- Other cropping (sugar, cotton and others) employment down by 12 percent.
- Agriculture non-defined (NDF) more than doubling,
Agriculture business employment breakdown:
18,281 owner managers represent 30 percent of the workforce:
- 10,083 have no employees,
- 7,219 employed 1-19 workers
- 573 employed 20 or more employees
Queensland farmer profile:
- Average age of the farmer in QLD agriculture is 46 years old.
- The proportion of the workforce aged 45 years is 54.6 percent and the workforce aged over is 60 is 24 percent.
- This shows that the age of workers is still an issue as the industry is at risk to lose 14,578 to retirement in the next five years.
The level of employment also increased across all major occupations. There are fewer managers but there are more labourers, and also machine operators and drivers, technicians and trade people, professionals, sales workers and others.