WASHINGTON — Commercial bakers cite the skilled labor shortage as a significant challenge in 2025, according to a new study from the American Bakers Association (ABA), American Society of Baking (ASB) and International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA).
The study, conducted by Cypress Research, surveyed commercial bakers on the state of employment for skilled hourly positions, including machine operators and maintenance/engineering roles. Results were compared to a 2016 baseline study.
Sixty percent of respondents reported a high or severe shortage of maintenance/engineering employees. While this still represents a majority of bakers, this number is down from 78% in 2016. Forty-three percent reported machine operator shortages, up from 40% in 2016.
Bakers also reported significant deficiencies in technology/digital skills (e.g., programming and robotics) within the workforce compared to 2016. Eighty-six percent reported skill deficiencies in these areas when hiring or promoting into machine operator roles, up 26% from 2016, while 61% reported the same for maintenance/engineering positions (+22%).
“What this is telling us at an industry level is bakeries are experiencing intensifying challenges in skilling up these professionals,” said Marjorie Hellmer, president of Cypress Research.
The top challenges bakers reported contributing to this skills shortage include a lack of qualified candidates in their area (92%), a competitive manufacturing environment (92%), and challenges in making bakery manufacturing appealing to candidates (92%).
To combat these shortages, 92% of bakers reported training unskilled employees into skilled positions. For many (93%), this includes formal, internal job training programs for new and existing employees (up from 76% in 2016). Eighty-five percent are looking at online job boards (down 11% from 2016), while 71% are recruiting on social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook (+18%).
More bakers (85%) also reported working to foster a more positive work environment to combat skilled labor shortages, up 18% from 2016. Conversely, reported outreach efforts to high schools, technical schools and colleges fell significantly from 2016, down from 71% to 43%. Hellmer noted that this number may still be recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eight-five percent of respondents reported a challenging manufacturing environment at their bakery as an obstacle to employee retention. Of these respondents, many are focused on improving work environment and culture (92%), promoting employee health, safety and wellbeing (92%), and adopting a formal employee recognition program (71%).
Eighty-five percent of respondents also cited difficult hours/shifts as a retention obstacle. Of those, 77% are monitoring working hours and breaks to limit employee burnout and safety risks. However, few bakeries reported offering employees transportation assistance (14%), childcare assistance (4%) or affordable housing assistance (4%).
“These to me are the biggest potential opportunities for bakeries to consider,” Hellmer said.
To view the study’s complete findings, please use the following links:
