The oil and gas labour market is entering a more mixed period than the simple “boom or decline” narratives suggest. Global energy employment has continued to grow, but the strongest net job creation is shifting toward electricity, grids, storage and other power-sector activities. Oil and gas employment has recovered much of the ground lost during the pandemic, while companies are simultaneously dealing with automation, ageing workforces, skilled-worker shortages and, in some markets, renewed cost pressure.
The IEA World Energy Employment 2025 reports that total global energy employment reached about 76 million jobs in 2024, with energy employment growing 2.2%, faster than the wider economy. Oil and gas supply had recovered most of the jobs lost in 2020, although the IEA also notes that some major oil companies announced job cuts in 2025 as lower prices and revenues created pressure on costs.
Oil and Gas Employment in the Broader Energy Workforce
Oil and gas remains a major employer within the energy system, particularly in production regions with established supply chains, engineering capability and service-company ecosystems. Employment includes far more than drilling crews. The sector relies on:
- petroleum and process engineers
- geoscientists and subsurface specialists
- drilling and well-service crews
- maintenance and reliability technicians
- HSE and process-safety professionals
- project and construction teams
- supply-chain, procurement and logistics staff
- commercial, finance and regulatory specialists
- digital, automation and data roles
What the Current U.S. Outlook Shows
For the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that oil and gas workers held about 112,700 jobs in 2025. BLS projects overall employment of these workers to grow about 2% from 2025 to 2035, slower than the average for all occupations.
That relatively modest growth rate does not mean there will be few hiring opportunities. BLS projects about 9,900 openings per year on average over the decade, with many openings created by workers transferring to other occupations or leaving the labour force.
| U.S. oil & gas workforce indicator | Current BLS figure | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Oil and gas workers employed | About 112,700 | 2025, selected extraction occupations |
| Projected employment change | About 2% | 2025–2035 |
| Average annual openings | About 9,900 | Growth + replacement needs |
| Median annual wage | $51,650 | May 2025 |
These figures apply to the U.S. occupational group defined by BLS. They should not be treated as a global oil and gas employment forecast.
Why Employment Demand Is Becoming More Uneven
The IEA expects energy employment to continue rising overall, but the direction of oil-supply jobs differs by policy, investment cycle and market conditions. That means workforce planning needs to be more flexible than a single global growth forecast suggests.
Several forces are shaping demand:
- Production and capital investment: new upstream projects and LNG infrastructure can increase hiring in engineering, construction and operations.
- Commodity prices: lower prices can trigger cost reductions, delayed projects and hiring restraint.
- Automation: remote monitoring, digital drilling and robotics can reduce some routine labour needs while increasing demand for higher-skill technical roles.
- Asset maturity: older fields create demand for maintenance, integrity, well intervention and decommissioning capability.
- Energy transition: some oil and gas skills can transfer into adjacent sectors such as offshore wind, geothermal, carbon management, hydrogen and other energy infrastructure.
Skilled-Worker Shortages Are a Strategic Risk
The IEA’s 2025 employment survey found that more than half of participating energy firms, trade unions and educators reported critical hiring bottlenecks. Applied technical roles are particularly important because they make up more than half of the energy workforce.
Shortages matter because energy projects depend on experienced people who can work safely in technically demanding environments. Hiring gaps can affect project schedules, reliability and cost control.
Ageing Workforce and Replacement Demand
Replacement hiring is becoming as important as net job growth. The IEA notes that the energy workforce is older than the economy-wide average in many advanced economies, increasing the importance of apprenticeships, vocational training and internal development pipelines.
For employers, the practical question is not simply whether the total workforce grows. It is whether the organisation can replace experienced operators, technicians, engineers and supervisors as they retire or move into other sectors.
Transferable Skills Across the Energy Sector
Many oil and gas workers possess skills that are relevant beyond one fuel or technology. The IEA estimates that with targeted retraining, around two-thirds of oil and gas supply workers have base skills that can transfer relatively readily to other parts of the energy system.
Examples include:
- offshore construction and marine operations
- mechanical and electrical maintenance
- process safety and permit-to-work systems
- project controls and large-capital-project execution
- subsurface and drilling knowledge
- asset integrity and inspection
- industrial automation and controls
Pay and Career Considerations
Pay varies widely by occupation, location, rotation pattern, seniority and employer. The IEA reports that oil, gas and nuclear roles generally remain among the higher-paying parts of the energy workforce because of their technical requirements and competition for experienced talent.
In the United States, BLS reported a median annual wage of $51,650 for the oil and gas worker group in May 2025, with substantial variation between individual occupations. Professionals should therefore compare the exact occupation rather than treating one sector-wide wage as representative of every role.
What Employers Should Measure
Workforce planning should track:
- vacancy duration by critical occupation
- retirement exposure
- turnover among experienced technical staff
- time to competence for new hires
- internal mobility between assets and disciplines
- training capacity and apprenticeship throughput
- contractor dependency
- skills that can transfer into adjacent energy businesses
2026 Outlook
The most defensible outlook is a mixed one. Oil and gas will continue to employ large technical and operational workforces, but growth will differ sharply across regions and occupations. The IEA expects overall energy employment to keep expanding, while noting that oil supply can follow different trajectories depending on investment, market conditions and policy.
For individuals, the strongest position is to combine core oil and gas expertise with transferable capabilities in digital systems, reliability, project execution, safety and adjacent energy technologies. For employers, the priority is to protect critical knowledge, build replacement pipelines and avoid assuming that future skills will look exactly like today’s workforce.
Primary Sources
- IEA: World Energy Employment 2025
- IEA: World Energy Employment 2024
- U.S. BLS: Oil and Gas Workers
- U.S. BLS: Oil and Gas Extraction Industry
Data note: Energy labour-market data vary by occupation, geography and methodology. Figures above are scoped to the source and year stated rather than presented as universal global estimates.
Joshna Dsouza is a Training Operations Specialist with 12+ years of experience in course development and content quality management at Zoe Talent Solutions. She specializes in creating accessible, practical content on HR, office administration, CRM, and workplace soft skills. Known for her meticulous attention to detail and operational expertise, she bridges real-world training needs with clear, learner-focused resources.
