BP Oil Spill Jobs

With the BP oil spill the flood of job applicants has much in common with the flood of applicants and opportunists after Hurricane Katrina. With the size of the spill and bad national economy it is natural for job seekers to run to the Gulf. Though many may consider this the reality is that there are few positions available.

Unemployed in the construction crash I have been looking for employment with the spill for well over a month. I have disaster experience after Katrina as well as oilfield experience. I also live in Houma, Louisiana. There have been many companies that have told me to wait by the phone as I could be sent any minute. The call to go has still not been realized. As with Katrina many companies are resume building in hopes of getting a contract that may never come.

After the flood of out of state workers after the hurricanes it appears the states are trying to hold the surge back this time. More and more residency is becoming an important factor. This is compounded with the drilling moratorium as many in the oil industry are facing unemployment. Over the last week many major employers in the area have announced major layoffs. Other oilfield employers are trying to keep from letting employees go by starting spill operations. Local companies are also asking for personal recommendations for local applicants rather than public announcements.

After Katrina many workers from areas with poor economic circumstance came down looking for work. Many of these found jobs with fly by night organizations that did not pay the workers. With many workers available it was easy to replace the unpaid with a new group every few weeks. As times are tough it can be easy to assume that there will be extra jobs available with the spill. This might have been the case had the drilling moratorium not been instituted. Now unemployment is accelerating faster than positions mitigating the spill.

We are finding out that many of the workers hired to clean up Grand Isle were hired for President Obama's visit. These workers started the day of Obama's visit and sent home after he left two weeks ago. The workers have been sent all over the place to get checks and many still don't have one. These were workers that were promised a 7 day a week 12 hour a day schedule.

Those that are elsewhere in the country and needing a job may find themselves further in debt by trying to come down and help.