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4.2 Employment Outlook
Against a backdrop of falling revenues, companies had to make severe cost reductions and undergo extensive
restructuring to curtail unsustainable expenditure. The difficult decisions that had to be made have caused the
number of jobs supported by the UK oil and gas sector to contract from its peak of 450,000 in 2014 to 330,000
last year. Even through this difficult period, the industry remains a major employer and industrial contributor to
the UK economy.
Looking ahead to 2017, the assessment that it may be a year of stabilisation is reflected in company recruitment
strategies. Information gained from Oil & Gas UK members suggests around two-thirds of companies are now
smaller in terms of headcount than they were at the end of 2015, but it would appear far fewer are planning to
make further headcount reductions this year. On the other hand, a subset of smaller companies have emerged
across the supply chain in recent years, often driven by technological innovation, who are expecting to increase
headcount during this year as they pursue market share growth.
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