This year, Canada’s oil and gas industry is expecting cuts in capital and operational expenditures amounting to $31 billion—a move that could lead to slashing 185,000 jobs.
These are the findings of a new employment impact assessment by the Petroleum Labour Market Information (PetroLMI) division of Enform (formerly the Petroleum Human Resources Council).
Read: Canadian employers lag in the talent game
The majority of job losses are expected to take place in Alberta. But approximately one-third of jobs could be lost outside of Alberta, with 20,000 job losses estimated in British Columbia and 14,000 job losses estimated in Ontario.
Oil and gas engineering construction firms, which perform the majority of work on development projects, are expected to absorb the largest share of employment impacts, accounting for up to 75,000 jobs.
Read: Energy industry faces talent crisis
The support services sector, which is involved heavily in exploration and development drilling, would account for the next largest share of potential job losses with an estimated decline of 26,000 jobs.
The outlook for 2016 and beyond remains unclear, says Enform.