EMPLOYMENT BRIEFS

* Energy: Although Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait has set the stage for increased profits for U.S. petroleum firms, there is little hope of resurrected opportunities for the thousands of Southern California energy industry workers who lost their jobs in the industry restructuring of the 1980s. Not only is today’s political standoff seen as too temporary to spur major increases in exploration and refining, but some believe that the oil industry has simply become capable of producing more with fewer people. Moreover, the alternative energy firms that sprang up the last time oil prices shot above $30 a barrel are unlikely to resurface soon, industry experts say. Since 1981, when the industry reached its local employment peak, 8,300 Los Angeles oil industry workers have lost their jobs, according to the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. More than half were laid off in the past five years. Nationally, more than 150,000 jobs have been eliminated since 1985 in the U.S. oil and gas extraction industry, and thousands more have lost their jobs in refining.