Job Hunting? New Jersey Is Hiring Thousands for Its Brand New Marijuana Industry
Recreational marijuana sales are now officially legal in New Jersey, and the industry is staffing up to meet demand.
The Garden State already has nearly 3,150 full-time jobs supporting $189 million in statewide sales, NJ.com reported, citing comments from Bruce Barcott, senior editor and executive producer at Leafly Reports. “Thousands of weed jobs” are still open, NJ.com said, as employers expand their operations to serve the new market.
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A couple hundred of those jobs were recently listed on the Indeed employment site, ranging from cultivators and dispensary managers to administrative, health and retail positions.
To help recruit employees, NJ.com and partner NJ Cannabis Insider hosted a Cannabis Insider Live Virtual Job Fair on April 26 and 27. Applicants can upload their resumes, browse exhibitor booths for new opportunities and take part in live chats with recruiters. Exhibitors include The Cannabist, Puffin, The Botanist, TerrAscend, Ascend Wellness and Longview Strategic.
More than 200 job seekers were expected to join the job fair. The virtual booths will remain live through May 25 so that visitors can explore and apply to jobs at their convenience.
Sloane Barbour, founder of Engin Sciences and a partner at cannabis recruiting agency FlowerHire, told NJ Cannabis Insider that he expects to see a 10-fold increase in the number of marijuana-related jobs in New Jersey in the coming years.
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“The sooner that you get revenue going through adult-use dispensaries, the more people are going to hire and the more impact you’re going to have,” Barbour said. “Every million dollars in legalized cannabis sold in a state creates between 14 and 18 jobs. And in New Jersey, that means you’re going to have 30,000 to 40,000 jobs created based on those numbers, and 60,000 to 80,000 in New York.”
Most of the jobs will involve the “seed-to-sale” process, which covers every step throughout the supply chain: genetics, cultivation, harvest, processing, packaging, manufacturing, storage, delivery and logistics. Other jobs tied to the industry include contracted services such as marketing and ancillary services.
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