- UK oil job postings declined by 18% per quarter, compared to solar at 5%
- By the fourth quarter of 2016, solar jobs could surpass oil by number of job postings
- Bucking the trend, hydroelectric jobs have grown 127% in UK (2014-16)
Solar set to outpace oil by end of 2016
If energy job trends continue at their current pace, solar job postings would outweigh oil postings by the end of this year, according to the world’s number one job site, Indeed. Oil has the greatest share of energy job postings on Indeed at 42%, followed by solar at 30%. Over the past two years oil postings have dropped by an average of 18% per quarter, compared to solar at an average of 5% per quarter.
Commenting on the latest findings, Mariano Mamertino, economist at Indeed, said:
“As oil prices plummet and traditional fossil fuels make way for the renewable energy industry on a global scale, our data shows we could see a gold rush of employment opportunities in areas like solar and hydropower.”
He continues:
“Job seekers haven’t necessarily caught onto this trend, though, marking a mismatch between supply and demand for energy roles. With a growing number of positions opening, we would expect to see upwards movement in job search in renewables. Whether or not solar overtakes oil on Indeed by the end of this year, energy workers in the UK would do well to position themselves for work in renewable fields such as solar, wind and hydroelectricity.”
Brexit’s cooling effect on hiring appetite across all sectors
Overall, the data shows fewer jobs in energy overall. Commenting on last week’s UK unemployment figures, Mamertino added: “The combination of strengthening economic headwinds, and the political uncertainty triggered by the Brexit referendum, is having a dramatic cooling effect on employers’ appetite to hire. At the end of March, the number of live job postings by UK employers on our site had fallen across all 13 major sectors.”
By sharp contrast to February, job postings increased across the board. He concludes: “As yet it’s hard to know whether this dramatic reduction in job postings is a blip, or the beginning of a deeper trend.”
