Agriculture, forestry and fishing account for over a fifth of around 33,000 employed in the Wairarapa electorate, according to the 2013 census data.
The industry employs 6477 people, a drop from 6999 in 2006, or 7 per cent.
The second-most employed industry, manufacturing, also fell by 19 per cent, from 3981 to 3237.
Despite media coverage of a struggling retail industry, numbers employed in retail only dropped by a marginal three per cent in seven years, from 3144 to 3054.
The largest rise in employment was in Health Care and Social Assistance, a 19 per cent rise from 2484 to 2949.
