John SchroyerThe U.S. cannabis industry tacked on another 22,952 jobs last year, a 5.4% year-over-year growth, for a new total of 440,445, according to a new report from cannabis headhunting firm Vangst, in partnership with Whitney Economics.
It’s also a rebound from a year ago, when Vangst reported that the industry lost 10,566 jobs.
The same report also projected nearly double the 2023 level of marijuana industry job growth for 2024, all of which is “a sign that the business climate has begun to stabilize somewhat nationally after the turmoil of the past two years.”
Signs of stabilization
The Denver-based firm also found that the industry as a whole last year sold $28.8 billion worth of cannabis products, a 10% year-over-year increase. The additional $2.7 billion essentially paid for the added sector jobs.
Nationally, cannabis industry growth was driven primarily by the Midwest, but also by “moderate” growth in East Coast markets, the report found.
The top states for marijuana industry job growth were Michigan and Missouri, both of which tacked on more than 10,000 jobs apiece. Michigan added 11,341 jobs, and Missouri added 10,735.
The East Coast and its newly opened recreational cannabis markets delivered as well. New Jersey contributed 4,870 new jobs to sector growth, while Maryland offered 3,680 jobs, Connecticut added 2,135 jobs, New York added 2,050 jobs, and Rhode Island also added 510 jobs.
That growth was offset to a degree by overall job losses and contraction in some mature markets. California and Colorado led in losses, down 4,975 jobs and 4,472, respectively. Washington state followed with 3,305 jobs.
Other markets that recorded net job losses included Arizona, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Oregon.
“We expect losses in these markets to continue to thin in 2024 and turn positive once again in 2025,” the report asserted.
In those states and others, many companies are delaying hiring new staff due to the high cost of debt, the report found, along with a nationwide trend of many marijuana operators either delaying payments to vendors or not paying their bills at all in order to save money.
“Many companies were forced to do more with less last year simply because they weren’t getting paid by their vendors,” the report asserts.
But “there are bright spots on the horizon,” the report assures readers.
For the coming year, Vangst projected that the “hot job markets” in cannabis will be Ohio, New York, New Jersey, and Maryland, all of which are still in the process of standing up new recreational marijuana businesses and each of which will need “thousands of new hires.”
That, the report asserted, will likely lead to 9% job growth year-over-year, and then even more expansion next year, as the firm expects federal interest rates will lower, making the cost of capital more affordable for businesses.
But an important point to keep in mind, the report notes, is that “now more than ever, America’s cannabis industry is a state- by-state, region-by-region job market.”
The top five states with the most cannabis jobs are California with 78,618, Michigan with 46,676, Florida with 30,238, Illinois with 29,966, and Massachusetts with 27,407.
