A new report indicates a grim forecast for the Alberta job sector, with the possibility of thousands of oil and gas positions lost if oil prices continue to go south.
The study, conducted by Enform’s labour market division, says 185,000 jobs could be lost in 2015 because of low oil.
That equates to a 25 percent cut in jobs.
The report says that the job losses are the result of major budget cuts in the industry, which is expected to spend about $31B less in 2015 than in 2014.
Engineering construction firms are the most vulnerable, the report says, but exploration and development drilling could also be hit.
Officials with Enform say the impact of low oil will expand beyond Alberta. “Certainly, B.C. and Ontario are impacted by this decreased spending so it is certainly something that is happening across Canada, not just here,” says Carol Howe with Enform.
Recruiters say that even though the job market is tightening, they haven’t seen a flood of people looking for work just yet.
That could be because a lot of the layoffs in the energy sector came with severance pay and experts say people are taking their time to get back into the job market.
However, when those funds start to run out, recruiters say all those job-seekers will likely hit the market at the same time.
Experts advise that if you’re among those people, it’s wise to start looking for a job as soon as possible, while competition is still light.
The oil benchmark slid again on Tuesday, dipping the price below $60 per barrel, the fifth straight session of dips, the longest streak of losses since March.
