A new survey of oil and gas companies reveals that increased economic optimism at the local and global levels will translate to job growth in the sector over the next year. Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed by Ernst & Young in October said they expect their organizations to create jobs or hire new talent over the next 12 months. Only 34% said the same thing in October 2012. A full 37% said they would keep their current workforce size, down from 59% in 2012. As of last month, 71% view the global economy as improving, which is dramatically higher than the 44% percent who said so in April. More than half of the respondents said their boardrooms are more focused on attracting and retaining talent than they were a year ago. There is some concern about employment growth at the local level, however. In April, 57% of the respondents said they were confident, which was a big improvement from October 2012 (41%). That number, however, has since shrunk back down to 47%.