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Oil and gas sector has a lot more potential to create employment

On June 2, the Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada released the Supply/Demand Analysis 2009-2020 report, providing a detailed picture to the public of the oil and gas labour market for the next decade.

The report not only projects labour demand for the main parts of the oil and gas industry, but also reveals specific jobs that will be needed into the future including a potential need for over 100,000 workers within the next 10 years to support new oil and gas activity and replace retiring workers.

According to Alberta Employment and Immigration, about 145,500 were employed in the mining and oil and gas extraction industry in 2008. The average annual growth rate expected between 2009 and 2013 is 0.4 per cent. In 1999, the industry’s share of economic activity in Alberta was around 26 per cent, but by 2008 this had dropped to less than 19 per cent.

Alberta’s crude production is expected to increase by approximately a third by 2013, with all of the gain coming from the oil sands. Through 2013, lower-than-average demand can be expected for supervisors, oil and gas drillers, and operators in oil and gas drilling. About 3,000 new jobs will be created in mining and oil and gas extraction industries by 2013.

Although this industry is still not operating at the rate it had been, the overall rate of unemployment in Alberta in the Stettler area was 4.3 per cent in August, down from 5.3 per cent in August of last year.