The Hays Oil & Gas Global Job Index, established in October 2010, charts the number of jobs posted on nine oil and gas portals around the world. To create a baseline figure the index was set at 1, with all subsequent data compared to this baseline. The latest figures, covering January to June 2012, show a rise from 1.39 to 1.56.
Job postings in June were up 56 per cent since the first Index was conducted and the latest figures show a continual increase for jobs in the sector advertised online.
“The average number of jobs posted was higher than at any time since we first started measuring this data,” said Matthew Underhill, Managing Director of Hays Oil & Gas.
At 1.56 the Hays Oil & Gas Global Job Index is slightly down from its peak of 1.63, recorded in May 2012.
“Since then the markets have been more tentative with some unease surrounding the debt issues in Europe and the consequential easing of the oil price,” Mr Underhill said.
“Assuming there is no material change in the outlook, such as Greece defaulting, we expect to see a continuation at this level for the next six months or so. We expect the Index to remain buoyant, but believe any gains will be kept to a minimum due to the negative sentiment around Europe.”
In May 2012, Australia hit 1.70 in response to busy markets in Queensland and Western Australia. However, the Index fell sharply in June and it remains to be seen whether this is a short-term lull or a trend.
According to Hays Oil & Gas, the market is still busily recruiting, so a strong bounce back next quarter is expected.