Workforce Research

Exclusive studies and reports about workforce recruitment, retention, and beyond to help our Members understand the current and future landscape.

Recruitment Resources

2024 ABA Pulse Survey: AI in the Commercial Baking Industry

The 2024 ABA Pulse Survey: AI in the Commercial Baking Industry study was developed in conjunction with NDP Analytics and contains survey data representing 80 businesses of all sizes with operations across the U.S. and abroad.

The findings help employers understand AI's uses, top value drivers, cost savings, revenue, and more.

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2023 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Study

ABA's Members-only study assesses the current diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) activities in the U.S. commercial baking industry. The findings help employers better understand current baking industry DEI strategies and initiatives, workforce demographics, and more.

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2022 Workforce Gap in U.S. Commercial Baking: Recruitment, Retention, and Training

The ABA and the American Society of Baking (ASB) joint study, 2022 Workforce Gap in US Commercial Baking: Recruitment and Retention Challenges and Best Practices, was developed in conjunction with Cypress Research.

Conducted in October 2021 and February 2022, the study assesses challenges and best practices for workforce recruitment and retention in the US commercial baking industry.

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2022 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the U.S. Commercial Baking Industry Study

The 2022 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the U.S. Commercial Baking Industry Study. Conducted in March 2022 by ndp analytics, the study assesses the current diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) activities in the U.S. commercial baking industry.

The findings help employers better understand current baking industry DE&I strategies and initiatives, workforce demographics, and more.

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2021 Workforce Gap in U.S. Commercial Baking: Recruitment Trends & Best Practices

The ABA and American Society of Baking (ASB) joint study, 2021 Workforce Gap in U.S. Commercial Baking: Recruitment Trends & Best Practices was conducted in October 2021 by Cypress Research. The study assesses challenges and best practices for workforce recruitment in the U.S. commercial baking industry.

An update to 2016’s, Workforce Gap Study, the 2021 findings help baking employers better understand the current recruitment trends for hourly, skilled production employees and how they have changed in the past five years. The study also explores new in-depth industry data on the recruitment of drivers and hourly, unskilled production employees.

Click here to see the study's key findings.

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2021 Study Key Findings

2021 Workforce Recruitment Key Findings (179.51 KB)

179.51 KB

2021 Salary and Benefits Survey

From ABA and SNAC International, the Salary and Benefits 2021 Survey results cover company profile information, pay practices, benefits and pay information for various positions from food manufacturers and supplier organizations across the US and Canada.

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2020 Frontline Workforce Landscape Study

The Baking Industry’s Frontline Workforce Landscape study, produced in 2020, studies commercial baking and supplier companies' investments in frontline workforce engagement and career development as well as the support of their local communities. Delivering on a key initiative from ABA’s Strategic Plan to promote and grow the baking industry, this study provides important data that reinforces the baking industry’s role as an essential manufacturing employer.

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2016 Study Identifying Trends, Challenges, and Solutions

The ASB/ABA study found that the greatest current workforce gap among U.S. commercial bakers is among hourly maintenance and engineering positions, with 78 percent reporting a ‘high’ or ‘severe’ shortage, and will remain at this level unless programs are adopted to help close this gap.

Companies project that hourly machine operators’ positions, unskilled production positions, and salaried scientist and research and development positions will skyrocket in the next 10 years.

ABA and ASB believe this research provides direction on how individual companies can make progress in filling the workforce skills gap.

2016 skills gap study