U.S. oilfield services (OFS) employment in June continued to hit post-pandemic highs, but jobs edged up by only 45 last month, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data by the Energy Workforce & Technology Council.
Total OFS jobs inched up to 665,258 jobs in June, closer to the 706,528 jobs in February 2020 prior to the Covid-19 outbreak in the United States.
Energy Workforce President Molly Determan told NGI that the small job gains were tied to the “tight labor market.” The OFS sector is “competing with many organizations to hire more employees.”
The Energy Workforce’s OFS member companies “continue to seek to add to their workforce, with no slowdown in sight,” Determan said.
The job additions in June “can end up being a signal of a drop into a low number,” or “random volatility,” Texas Alliance for Energy Producers economist Karr Ingham told NGI. “Time will tell.”
Overall, U.S. employers last month added 209,000 jobs, down from May’s gains of 306,000. The U.S. labor force participation rate held at 62.6% in June for the fourth consecutive month, according to BLS data.
Texas, meanwhile, has had a rise in unemployment, according to the Texas Oil and Gas Association (TXOGA). The latest available data showed Texas’ unemployment in May grew 0.3% month/month to 4.1%, mainly due to the state’s labor force growing faster than employment.
Higher unemployment, however, may be “good news that workers are available, which could help alleviate upward price inflation,” according to TXOGA.
According to the trade group, the industry may require about 1.9 million oil and natural gas hires through 2035.
The state’s average wages for an oil and natural gas worker have increased over the last five years. In 2017, an oil and gas worker received an average salary of more than $105,000/year. Last year, average pay reached $118,175/year.
TXOGA has previously held events at schools across Texas to encourage science, technology, engineering and mathematics students to get involved in the industry. Individual companies – including Chevron Corp., ExxonMobil Corp., Marathon Oil Corp., Pioneer Natural Resources Co., Shell plc and Valero Energy Corp. – have also launched or sponsored oil and natural gas programs at high schools and colleges across the state.
Additionally, the Energy Institute in Houston in 2014 opened its doors as a magnet high school to prepare students for careers in the energy sector. The institute is backed by BP plc, Phillips 66, Noble Energy Inc. and SLB Ltd.
