Covid Downturn Slashes Oz Oil Workforce

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a loss of over 28,000 oil and gas jobs in Australia this year.

That’s according to a new Rystad Energy analysis, which highlights that the figure is equivalent to a quarter of the country’s total oil and gas job count. Australian oil and gas jobs have dropped from just over 110,000 in 2019 to just over 82,000 currently, the energy research and intelligence company calculates.

The engineering and construction segments have been amongst the worst hit with over 8,000 job losses, representing nearly 29 percent of all industry job cuts this year, Rystad Energy outlined. Drilling is another of the worst affected segments, having seen more than 1,100 jobs face the axe in Australia, per Rystad Energy’s estimates.