One in every three oil and gas industry employees worldwide lost their jobs in the past 12 months as plunging oil prices dragged economies down, a survey by employment agency Hays has found.

The survey on 28,000 workers in 28 countries showed a whopping 93 percent of employers saying they have had to cut down on staff in the past year.

The survey was conducted in November 2015, amid falling oil prices, which have continued to tumble.

The outlook for 2016 does not seem brighter, the seventh annual Oil and Gas Salary Guide survey by Hays Oil and Gas showed.

“Few, if any, oil and gas employers are predicting headcount growth for 2016, with most struggling to retain existing staff and many looking at trying to make cost savings through reducing salaries and rates.

“The industry is facing the prospect of further redundancies in the year ahead and many workers are being forced to look at opportunities outside of the industry as the lack of new projects coming on line starts to bite,” Hays Oil and Gas said in a press statement.

The survey found salaries decreased by 1.4 percent as a result of the redundancies in the oil and gas industry, with high cost expatriate workers worst hit.

Willing to take pay cut to keep job

About half of oil and gas employees in Malaysia said they are willing to take a pay cut to remain employed during the economic crunch.

Those who have been laid off said they are now looking to move to another industry, raising possibility of pipeline challenges in the future, Hays Oil and Gas said.

“The fall in oil prices is causing more challenges than initially meets the eye – it’s not just about the fall in profitability and the reduction in the industry’s workforce.

“Headcount losses and the resulting potential brain drain to the industry, coupled with the inevitable halt in hiring fresh talent, could lead to more acute future skills shortages,” Hays Oil & Gas managing director John Faraguna said.

Faraguna said while firms are forced to cut staff, they should consider supporting workers who are laid off to retain their reputation as good employers.

This is to ensure the firms can bank on this reputation to hire top talent when the market improves, he said.

“A pause in hiring today could create an even greater skills shortage than that caused by the downturn of the mid-to-late 1980s.

“Employers should be looking at their training offering and implementing succession plans to retain current staff, and build a reputation as a top employer to help attract candidates in the future.”