Feeding the economy: employment growth in food and beverage manufacturing expected to continue through the 2024–34 decade

Food and beverage manufacturing is a critical component of the U.S. economy, making products that are daily staples of the nation’s diet, such as meat, bread, snacks, cheeses, and beverages. It’s also the largest component of the overall manufacturing sector in terms of 2024 employment share. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Employment Projections program, the food and beverage manufacturing sector is projected to add the most new jobs (130,000) of all manufacturing sectors over the 2024–34 decade. This 6.2-percent growth is twice as fast as the 3.1-percent projected growth for total employment and represents the second fastest growth of any manufacturing sector. Most of the new jobs created are expected to be in the component industries that produce beverages, meat, snacks, and baked goods.

This projected growth is a continuation of the sector’s trend of expanding output to meet food and beverage demand from a growing population.¹ As a result, the sector’s output in produced goods is projected to reach over $1 trillion in 2034.²

Breaking down food and beverage manufacturing

Although the overall U.S. manufacturing sector is projected to have little or no change in employment over the 2024–34 decade, most food and beverage manufacturing industries are projected to experience employment growth. Employment in the food and beverage manufacturing sector grew from about 1.7 million in 2014 to about 2.1 million in 2024 and is projected to increase to over 2.2 million in 2034. (See chart 1.) Food and beverage manufacturing employed 16 percent of all manufacturing workers in 2024—the largest employment sector among the 20 manufacturing sectors.³

The food and beverage manufacturing sector encompasses the transformation of raw materials into intermediate or final products for human and animal consumption, and may include the processes of cooking, freezing, preservation, and packing. Raw materials primarily include agricultural products, such as crops and livestock.⁴

The food and beverage manufacturing sector is made up of 10 industries—9 food industries and 1 beverage industry. The animal slaughtering and processing industry, also known as meat processing, accounted for about 25 percent of jobs in the sector in 2024.

Another 45 percent of the sector’s 2024 employment consisted of 3 industries—bakeries and tortilla manufacturing, beverage manufacturing, and other food products manufacturing. Other food products manufacturing includes an eclectic mix of products, such as a variety of snack foods, coffees and teas, and perishable prepared foods like salads, sandwiches, and prepared meals.⁵

The remaining 6 industries accounted for 28 percent of the sector’s 2024 employment. (See chart 2.) Of these 6 industries, employment in fruit and vegetable preservation manufacturing and specialty food and dairy products manufacturing each accounted for about 8 percent of the employment share, while the remaining 4 industries each accounted for less than 4 percent of employment. (See chart 2.)

Convenience is expected to drive increasing demand and varieties of food and beverage products

In addition to the growing population’s need for food and beverages, the demand for convenience food and beverages is a major factor behind the projected growth in both output and employment in food and beverage manufacturing. Convenience foods refer to foods that may reduce time in preparation and cleanup, are accessible, or are ready for consumption.⁶ These types of foods are typically referred to as ready-to-eat meals, precooked meals, frozen foods, shelf-stable foods, or snack foods.

The convenience of some of these foods is also related to their accessibility. The increase in online shopping is expected to further expand accessibility to a variety of food and beverage products. In 2023, almost 1 in 5 consumers reported buying groceries online at least once in the previous 30 days.⁷ These shifts in consumer purchases have been largely accommodated through online orders from a variety of retail and food service places (including restaurants), spurring food and beverage deliveries and in-store pickups.

Additionally, the variety of food and beverage products has been increasing. Beverages, snacks, and bakery items had the largest share of overall new food and beverage product introductions in the last decade.⁸ Similarly, dairy product manufacturing, sugar and confectionary products manufacturing, and animal food manufacturing are also projected to benefit from expanding product varieties. Employment growth is projected in these industries because of the need to produce a growing variety of food products. (See charts 3 and 4.)

Beverage manufacturing is expected to experience the fastest employment growth (11.4 percent) and add the most new jobs of the 10 industries in the food and beverage manufacturing sector by 2034. (See charts 3 and 4.) Increasing demand for beverage varieties in both nonalcoholic and alcoholic content is expected to fuel the industry expansion. Demand for nutrition-related and ready-to-consume drinks is projected to be strong among consumers, who continue to favor what are perceived to be healthier options, including gut health drinks, energy and sports drinks, and enhanced water beverages.⁹

Employment in other food manufacturing, which includes snack manufacturing, is also expected to experience much faster than average growth (8.4 percent) over the projections decade. (See chart 3.) Cookies, chips, candies, crackers, cakes, and perishable snacks such as cut vegetables, salads, sandwiches, or other prepared meals are among the products included in the other food manufacturing industry.¹⁰ Consumers demand snacks and ready-to-eat food items largely because of their busy lifestyles, including work, travel, and school activities. Whether used for the need to satisfy hunger, energy replacement, or other reasons, snacking has been increasing in frequency and volume over the last few decades.¹¹ More than 90 percent of adults report eating one or more snacks a day, and nearly half eat three or more snacks a day.¹² These trends are expected to continue to drive demand for snack production and contribute to employment growth in the other food manufacturing industry.

Similarly, demand for baked goods is reflective in consumers opting for ready-to-eat or partially baked items, which are easy to prepare. Favored for their convenience and longer shelf life, frozen bakery products such as prepackaged bread, pastries, and snack cakes are often used for on-the-go meals.¹³ Moreover, bakery foods had the largest percentage of new food and beverage product introductions to market in 2023.¹⁴ As a result of increasing demand for convenient baked products, employment in bakeries and tortilla manufacturing is projected to grow 5.4 percent, faster than the average job growth expected for the overall economy (3.1 percent) over the projections decade. (See chart 3.)

Animal slaughtering and processing, also known as meat processing, is projected to have the second largest job increase (35,400 jobs) within the food and beverage manufacturing sector by 2034. (See chart 4.) A recent dietary trend that focuses on higher daily protein intake has led to consumers valuing the benefits of eating beef and other meats.¹⁵ Per capita meat consumption (in retail weight) is projected to increase 3.5 percent from 2026 to 2034, while commercial production of beef, pork, and chicken are projected to increase by about 10 to 11 percent each over the same period.¹⁶ Consequently, strong employment growth (6.4 percent) in this industry is expected over the projections decade.

Employment in dairy product manufacturing is projected to grow by 6.4 percent over the 2024–34 decade. Milk production is projected to increase at an annual rate of 1.2 percent from 2026 to 2034.¹⁷ The increasing per capita consumption of processed dairy products such as butter, cheeses, and yogurt, and increasing demand for dairy products are expected to drive the expansion of dairy production.¹⁸ As a result, industry employment stands to benefit from the increased investments and expansion.

Employment in animal food manufacturing, which produces food for livestock animals and pets, also is projected to experience faster than average growth (6.9 percent) and be the third fastest growing industry in this sector. (See chart 3.) Employment growth is expected to be largely driven by growing demand for pet food, primarily food for cats and dogs. Grocery and specialty stores are filled with aisles of pet food, including a growing refrigerated food section for pets.

Expanding technology adoption is expected to bolster output but may lead to mixed employment demand

While all the food and beverage manufacturing industries are projected to see output grow through 2034, the continued adoption of technology is expected to moderate employment growth in some food and beverage manufacturing industries more than others. The effects of these technologies may temper employment growth over the projections decade. For example, fewer workers may be employed as automated mixing, forming, and compacting equipment is used in some food manufacturing industries or automated filling, packing, and palletizing equipment is used to track products.¹⁹ However, some of these same technologies are projected to bolster output in food and beverage manufacturing by about 22 percent from 2024 to 2034. (See chart 5.)

Meat, dairy, and beverage manufacturing industries are projected to have the largest output levels in the sector in 2034. In addition, these industries are also projected to have fast employment growth. Demand for meat and expanding production varieties of beverage and dairy products are reflected in the fast projected output growth in these manufacturing industries. Thus, the overall growth is due to demand effects being stronger than effects that technology may have on employment. (See chart 6.)

About 6.6 percent of food manufacturing plants used robots, resulting in nearly a quarter of employees being exposed to robots in their work in 2022.²⁰ The continued adoption of these technologies is expected to curb labor demand, and thereby slow employment growth in some of the food manufacturing industries.

Food and beverage manufacturers have been using sensor equipment capable of capturing and monitoring information such as temperature, humidity, or moisture content that enables automated adjustments requiring limited intervention by workers.²¹ Artificial intelligence (AI) applications in manufacturing help with improving production processes and the product quality, maintaining high accuracy of visual inspections; detecting quality issues in real time; and identifying problems.²² AI-powered automation is bringing new levels of precision in food production. For example, AI tools can adjust times and temperatures automatically, ensuring that every batch is cooked just right to minimize errors and reduce waste. If a machine detects an issue, such as a malfunctioning oven that’s running too hot, for example, the system can alert workers or fix the issue before food is spoiled.²³

The total robot stock in food and beverage manufacturing steadily increased over the 2010–20 decade, recording a 227.5-percent growth.²⁴ Yet, employment in the food and beverage manufacturing sector added over 400,000 new jobs from 2014 to 2024. (See chart 1.) Some manufacturing industries have seen more of an employment impact from the rollout of these automative technologies than others.

High rates of automation adoption in the grain and oilseed milling industry are related to the integration of thousands of data points that enable precise milling adjustments, predictive maintenance, automated batch tracking, and label printing to produce flour and other grain products.²⁵ The continued adoption of precision milling equipment is expected to contribute to greater output in grain and oilseed milling. However, employment in this industry is projected to experience little to no change (0.5 percent) over the 2024–34 decade.²⁶ (See charts 4 and 6.)

The fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty food manufacturing industry has benefited from the adoption of advanced systems in refrigeration and temperature controls, contributing to greater output. Temperatures and airflow are automatically monitored with alarm systems, which enhance food safety and quality assurance.²⁷ Employment in fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty food manufacturing is projected to experience a small decline (-0.7 percent) over the projections decade, while output is projected to increase. (See charts 4 and 6.)

Similarly, seafood products processing is expected to benefit from adopting automating technologies in packaging.²⁸ As a result, employment in seafood processing and production is projected to decline (-2.5 percent) over the projections period, while output is projected to grow over the same period. (See charts 4 and 6.)

Conclusion

The food and beverage manufacturing sector is projected to add the most new jobs of all manufacturing sectors from 2024 to 2034. Increased output needs are expected over the same decade to meet food and beverage demand from the growing population. The projected faster-than-average employment growth in the food and beverage manufacturing sector is expected to support the sector’s steadily expanding output. An increasing demand for beverages and ready-to-prepare and ready-to-eat food products, as well as growth in the variety of food and beverage products that are available to consumers, are expected to drive this growth. Most of the new jobs are projected in the industries producing the food and drinks that most of us consume every day—in beverage, meat, snacks, and bakery food manufacturing.

The increasing automation of numerous production processes is expected to have varying impacts on employment growth in some food manufacturing industries and reduce employment demand in some. Yet, the continued adoption of automative technologies is expected to bolster industry output in the sector over the 2024–34 projections period.