Jobless Benefits Claims Soar 100% In Canada’s Dying Oil Patch As Construction Jobs Plunge 84%

Thursday, February 18, 2016
By Paul Martin

by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
02/18/2016

2015 was not a good year for job creation in Alberta.

In fact, the net 19,600 jobs the province shed marked the worst year for job losses since 1982.

Alberta is of course suffering from the dramatic collapse in oil prices, which look set to remain “lower for longer” in the face of a recalcitrant Saudi Arabia and an Iran which is hell bent on making up for lost time spent languishing under international sanctions.

Suicide rates are up in the province, as is property crime and foodbank usage. The malaise underscores the fact that Canada’s oil patch is dying. WCS prices are teetering just CAD1 above marginal operating costs, and the BoC failed to cut rates last month, meaning it’s just a matter of time before the entire Canadian oil production complex collapses on itself.

On Thursday, a new industry report shows that crude’s inexorable decline could end up costing 84% of oilsands construction jobs over the next four years.

“The oilsands sector is in danger of losing its reputation as a job-creating machine,” The Calgary Herald writes. “A new industry report shows the sector may require 84% fewer construction workers in 2020 compared to 2015 as project cancellations pile up amid a crippling oil-price environment.” Here’s more:

“Overall workforce requirements for the oil and gas industry has been severely impacted by a reduction in investment,” said Carol Howes, vice-president of communications at Petroleum Labour Market Information, part of the industry-funded Enform based in Calgary.

The Rest…HERE

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