A cannabis worker plucks large leafs from a recently harvested indoor cannabis plant.

Rory Savatgy

Report: Cannabis Job Opportunities Rise 79% from 2018

A new cannabis jobs report suggests that the industry’s U.S. job openings have risen 79 percent from last year with an estimated 211,000 employees now working full-time in the space.

Full story after the jump.

Total cannabis job opportunities in the U.S. rose 79 percent from 2018 to 2019 with an estimated 211,000 full-time employees in the space this year, according to a Vangst report outlined by Forbes. The analysis suggests that there will be 414,000 new jobs in the cannabis industry by 2021.

According to the report, high-demand positions include budtenders, brand ambassadors, cultivation technicians and directors, delivery drivers, and trimmers. Additionally, Vangst estimates that “on-demand talent” – freelancers and seasonal employees – will comprise about 40 percent of the average company’s workforce by 2020.

From January 1, 2017 to January 1, 2018, Vangst saw a 690 percent increase in cannabis industry job postings on the platform, with a 16.1 percent salary increase over that same time span.

The report covers four main types of cannabis-specific jobs including cultivation, lab testing and cannabinoid extraction, manufacturing, and sales.

In August, Statistics Canada reported that the nation – which federally legalized cannabis last year – saw a near-quadruple increase in cannabis industry jobs from the previous year from 2,630 to 9,200. In 2017, Canada’s cannabis space accounted for just 1,438 jobs.

A report by Leafly and Whitney Economics released in May found that the U.S. cannabis industry added more than 64,000 jobs in 2018, a growth rate of 44 percent. In 2017, the increase in cannabis jobs in the U.S. was at just 21 percent.

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