Direct oil and gas employment up across Canada while down in Alberta
In September 2020, Canada’s oil and gas industry employed approximately 160,140 workers, reflecting a 0.9% increase (or 1,400 positions) from August 2020. Meanwhile, Alberta’s oil and gas employment decreased by 0.5% (-580 positions).
Drilling into the data
In addition to the usual monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS) data that PetroLMI provides, the Employment and Labour Force Data Dashboard now includes stats on employment by age, sex, type of work and class of worker.
The age group most impacted in September was youth aged 15 to 24, declining 12.6% or -1,200 roles from the previous month. The decline came entirely from the exploration and production sub-sector. Year over year, youth employment is down 48% in the sub-sector.
Another age group that felt the impact of the downturn was people aged 55 and older. Industry-wide employment is down 41% or -12,500 year-over-year, and in the oil and gas services sub-sector employment is down 55% or -9,300.
Point of interest: from August to September 2020, women accounted for all the job gains—up by 10.8% or 3,400 jobs—in the oil and gas industry across Canada. Employment for men declined by 1.7%, or 2,100 jobs, over the same period.
For all the latest employment statistics for Canada’s oil and gas industry, visit the Employment and Labour Force Data Dashboard.
Employment and Labour Force Data Dashboard
PetroLMI gathers labour market data to compile and provide timely industry-specific information to career practitioners and planners, researchers, governments and the wider oil and gas industry. Labour Force Survey (LFS) data, specific to the oil and gas industry, from Statistics Canada is available monthly on PetroLMI’s Employment and Labour Force Data Dashboard. Visitors can use the data to understand and react to the current realities of the Canadian labour market.
The data provides a picture of the labour force for Canada’s oil and gas industry for those 15 years of age and over who were employed or unemployed, and available to the labour market, specifically within the following industry sub-sectors: exploration and production (including oil sands), oil and gas services and pipeline transmission. The information can be viewed by sub-sector and by region across Canada.
