Info­graphic: Work seeks workers

Europe’s farms will continue to offer plenty of work – but who will take on this work remains uncer­tain. While new tech­nolo­gies are reshaping rural work­flows, human hands remain essen­tial. Adrien Leroy takes a look at the causes of the skilled labour shortage in agri­cul­ture and explores which solu­tions could help turn the tide.

March 2026

Text:
Illustration: Die Magaziniker

Agri­cul­tural 
employ­ment in the EU in compar­ison

2015

2024

*In annual full-time equiv­a­lents (FTEs)

*In annual full-time equiv­a­lents (FTEs)

While the utilised agri­cul­tural area (UAA) has remained broadly stable at about 157 million hectares.

Around

2,000,000

non-salaried workers less than in 2015.

Despite a shortage of skilled workers, the number of paid employees has remained stable. The bottle­neck stems from a declining “hidden work­force”.

This leads to greater compe­ti­tion for skilled workers in the agri­cul­tural labour market.

Source: Euro­stat

Decline in employ­ment figures

The Euro­pean Centre for the Devel­op­ment of Voca­tional Training fore­casts a further decline in employ­ment figures in the Euro­pean ‘green sector’ by around

0%

Labour recruitement­ chal­lenges in agri­cul­ture

52%

of planned hires in France are consid­ered diffi­cult by employers.

Source: France Travail, 2024

63%

of employers in the UK struggle to fill certain posi­tions.

Source: Univer­sity of Exeter, 2022

39.8%

of vacan­cies in arable farming, forestry, animal produc­tion and horti­cul­ture in Germany have no suit­ably qual­i­fied unem­ployed appli­cants.

Source: Thiede­mann, 2024 (data from 2023)

A chal­lenge in recruiting young talent

Lower earn­ings

In 2020, agri­cul­tural workers earned less than the average for all economic sectors.

minus 30% in France

minus 29% in the United Kingdom

minus 35% in Italy

Source: Inter­na­tional Labour Organ­i­sa­tion, Labour Force Survey – LFS 2020

Phys­ical complaints

More than one in two people working in agri­cul­ture suffer from phys­ical ailments. This is the highest figure among all occu­pa­tional groups.

55% complain of pain in their arms

57% complain of back pain

46% have pain in their legs

Source: 6. Euro­pean Survey on Working Condi­tions

Weekly working hours

In 2024, skilled workers in agri­cul­ture, forestry and fish­eries had the highest average weekly working hours in the EU.

Agri­cul­ture, forestry and fish­eries

42.1 hours

Managers

40.9 hours

Soldiers

39.9 hours

Source: Euro­stat

Struc­tural change meets gener­a­tional shift

Devel­op­ment of average UAA per farm (compared to 2010 in %)

Source: Euro­stat, calcu­la­tions by the edito­rial team

Age of farm managers in the EU in 2020

Over 55 years

57.6%

Under 40 years

12%

Many farm managers will retire in the coming years. This accel­er­ates farm consol­i­da­tion and increases labour demand.

Fewer young people coming from farming fami­lies – and conse­quently greater compe­ti­tion with other sectors for young talent.

Partial compen­sa­tion for labour short­ages

Increased tech­nical capacity

Tractor regis­tra­tion between 2018 and 2022

-24.4%

below 100 HP

+52.6%

150–199 HP

Source: France (Axema; CGDD)

Fewer cross­ings

Reduced tillage

2001

21%

2017

47%

Source: France Axema; CGDD

Agri­cul­tural Service Providers

Outsourcing of tasks

0%

of agri­cul­tural work in the EU is carried out by contrac­tors. For certain harvesting oper­a­tions, this figure rises to

90%

Source: CEETTAR – Euro­pean Asso­ci­a­tion of Agri­cul­tural Contrac­tors

Ways to enhance the attrac­tive­ness of agri­cul­ture as a work­place

Polit­ical and insti­tu­tional measures

  • Funding schemes to support new recruits
  • Tax incen­tives for employees in rural areas

Educa­tion and training

  • Prac­tice-orien­tated short courses, including training on new tech­nolo­gies
  • Increased support for voca­tional training on farms

Working condi­tions and company culture

  • Greater use of ergonomic and labour-saving tech­nolo­gies
  • Lead­er­ship and manage­ment training for farm managers

Rural devel­op­ment and the profession’s image

  • Bundling of local services like child­care, housing, mobility
  • Initia­tives to enhance the recog­ni­tion of farming as a profes­sion