Employment characteristics for the oil and gas sector

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Release date: August 26, 2021
Infographic: Employment characteristic for the oil and gas sector
Description: Employment characteristics for the oil and gas sector

In 2019, the oil and gas industryNote 1 employed over 72,800 workers, down from approximately 89,600 workers in 2012 when job in the industry peaked.

One-quarter of jobs in the energy sectorNote 2 were in oil and gas in 2019, down from its peak of 29% in 2012.

Among workers in the oil and gas industry in 2019:
36% were female
6% identified as being indigenous
41% were immigrants
26% belonged to a designated visible minority group


Top 5 occupations in the oil and gas industry, by number of jobs
Table summary
This table displays the results of Top 5 occupations in the oil and gas industry Number of jobs (appearing as column headers).
Number of jobs
Central control and process operators in processing and manufacturing 4,419
Auditors, accountants and investment professionals 3,631
Legislators and senior management 3,623
Life science professionals 3,177
General office workers 2,698

Did you know?

In 2019, a growing share of oil and gas workers had postsecondary education.

21% of oil and gas workers had a high school diploma or less.
33% of oil and gas workers were university graduates.
17% of female workers were employed as either auditors, accountants and investment professionals or general office workers.
9% of Indigenous workers were employed as central control and process operators in processing and manufacturing.
10% of immigrant workers were employed as auditors, accountants and investment professionals.

Source: Statistics Canada, Natural Resource Satellite Account, Human Resource Module, 2009 to 2019.

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