hays oil & gas global job index

hays oil & gas global Job indexrecord Job nUMbers dUring last qUarter

hays-oilgas.com

quarter 4, 2012.

introdUctionEach month Hays Oil & Gas records the number of on-line jobs advertising oil and gas vacancies. To do this we reference nine of the world’s largest on-line job advertisers in the industry and collate these to produce a headline figure for the Global Job Index in that month. The Index was first established in October 2010 when the Index was set at 1.00 against which all subsequent months are then compared. Further analysis is provided with a regional break down of the figures.

backgroUndFinding a new job via an online medium is now the norm for any job seeker looking for work. This trend has of course led employers to rely on their web presence, either direct or indirect, to source, attract and drive candidates to apply for their jobs.

The oil and gas industry is no stranger to the use of online media to attract candidates, with globalisation and remote work locations meaning the vast majority of roles in the industry are now resourced using online portals. These sites range from a company’s own online web pages to large recruitment groups, specialist job boards focused on specific geographies, and those dedicated to the oil and gas industry in all its guises across the world. These global boards have grown considerably in the last few years and now contain many thousands of jobs and resumes of users eager to access their next opportunity.

This data offer us some unique insights and with this in mind we have sought to measure this activity producing the Hays Oil & Gas Global Job Index. This Index gives employers an up to date measure of activity in the global oil and gas recruitment industry by measuring the numbers of jobs posted on a month to month basis. Our aim is to provide stakeholders in the industry information on trends, hot spots and regional variations in an ever-changing recruitment market.

MethodologyOur team of analysts and researchers measure the numbers of live jobs posted on all the major job boards that are specific to the oil and gas industry. These are collated into regional figures and compared against a datum of 1.00 taken from October 2010.

At this time the industry had largely recovered from the global recession, and the oil price reflecting this recovery slowly edging upwards over $80 bbl. Capital had flowed back into the industry boosting exploration, project starts and profits. Recruitment had recovered steadily since the start of 2010 in line with the increase in revenues although there were no significant skill shortages at that time. With expectations of a growing recruitment market through 2011, October 2010 appeared to be an ideal point from which to set our benchmark for the Global Job Index.

Each month since this date we have measured job posting activity on the same sites making sure we are consistent in how and what we measure. From time to time the sites themselves will change the way in which they post and maintain jobs, and this is closely monitored to ensure that this does not alter the results of our research over and above the specific measure of job posting activity we are seeking.

This data is broken down further to give a measure of regional activity and the trends within those regions. This further analysis is essential to oil and gas recruiters that scan the world for available talent.

the resUltsHays Oil & Gas publishes its results on a quarterly basis producing the Global Job Index along with dedicated figures for each region; Europe, Africa, Middle East, Russia and CIS, Asia, Australasia, North America and South America.

The oil and gas industry is no stranger to the use of online job boards, with globalisation and remote work locations meaning the vast majority of roles in the industry are now resourced using online portals. ”

2 | Hays Oil & Gas: Global Job Index Q3 2012

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As in previous years the Global Job Index fell in the final quarter of the calendar year, reflecting a slowdown in activity as the year came to a close. The Index started the quarter at close to an all-time peak of 1.59 – a level it had maintained through the busy months of August and September. However we saw the traditional seasonal drop bring this level down to 1.23 in December.

Whilst this is undoubtedly a larger fall than previous years, in contrast our own recruiters saw continued activity all the way up to the Christmas break. This activity without new job postings is not necessarily at odds with a typical busy year, where recruiters may rush to close off their assignments before they head off to use up their leave entitlements. In essence new job postings can wait till the New Year where there will be more time to devote to them. With Christmas also falling on a Tuesday we saw little activity, if any, in the week preceding the year end (the point at which we record our figures). This also contributed to the low numbers we saw for the end of December.

Now back after the holidays, it is with a bit more interest and some trepidation that we track how the Index rebounds in early 2013.

The second half of 2012 was undoubtedly a strong period of recruitment in the oil and gas industry with activity through most regions of the world. European fears were waning and we had started to see more economic good news than bad (although it largely depended on which day you opened the paper).

China’s lack of growth (relative) put a hole in the commodity prices and this in turn reduced the work load of many in the mining industry, and particularly the engineering and design houses. A certain amount of redeployment went into oil and gas projects to use up spare manpower capacity, and this ultimately reduced the need to go to the market to hire. This said, exploration and production activity were largely untouched and continued to show good job numbers.

global Job index - Findings

“The second half of 2012 was undoubtedly a strong period of recruitment in the oil and gas industry with activity through most regions of the world.”


global Job index: Global Results

aFricaAfrica saw a significant drop in the local Index, however, many of these businesses are supported and resourced from Europe, along with an extensive network of expats ‘in country’. Consequently, holiday periods take their toll on job postings and this Christmas was no different. Inherently the industry is in good shape with activity now spreading from the West and North to include the Eastern side of the continent.

eUroPeEurope saw an all-time peak in the Index in October of 2.10 before the season took its toll. This was a record globally for the Index in any region and reflects acute skill shortages around the North Sea fields, along with extensive use of on line job boards as the main source of recruiting. With the North Sea fields in decline this represents something of a contradiction, however, with brownfield projects and decommissioning it makes for some labour-intensive projects.

The brain drain of UK oil and gas professionals to overseas markets undoubtedly takes its toll too. This has been happening for many years, although the salary differential to locations such as Australia, Canada and parts of East Asia is exacerbating the flow at present.

north aMericaIn North America, as with other northern hemisphere regions, the drop off in activity happened early as the winter months arrived. In previous years the bounce back has been pretty quick in the New Year and we’d expect the same in 2013. Both Calgary and Houston are experiencing significant skill shortages at present with counter offers and sign on bonuses now the norm.

rUssia & cisThe other major Northern Hemisphere region is Russia and the CIS and again we saw a slowdown in activity for job postings as autumn arrived. The Index in this region, however, now sits at 0.87 – the lowest of any of our regions apart from South America, and the largest drop in activity since last quarter.


aUstralasiaAustralia is now experiencing the peak in construction work with a whole raft of mega projects on site. The only saving grace for the country’s stretched skill base is that the mining industry saw a significant downturn in the quarter, freeing up much-needed skills to redeploy into LNG projects. Whilst this was good news for stake holders on these projects, it reduced new hiring considerably and saw the Index in Australia drop to 1.05 in December, down from a peak of 1.50 in October.

soUth aMericaThe Index in South America continued to oscillate between 0.8 and 1.0, and is a patchwork of varying fortunes. Brazil is in a holding pattern until new auctions in the second quarter of next year give the market a lift. Argentina and Venezuela are struggling with falling production and development in general, where as Colombia is the leading light in the region with a great deal of opportunity and activity, all be it on a smaller scale than some of their bigger neighbours.

Middle eastThe Middle East continued to thrive in 2012 and unsurprisingly the end of year failed to stall the progress. With the oil price sustained at high levels, operators are all seeking to develop assets and boost productivity. This produced an Index of 1.44 in December, off an all-time high for the region of 1.5.


asiaAsia saw a slight easing of the Job Index to 1.48, reflecting a sustained busy market through most of the last six months. Continued investment in India, China and Malaysian fields, increasing fabrication work in Korea, and a general drive on non-conventional assets are the principle developments behind the buoyant market.

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hays oil & gas global job index

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