Since the low point in employment in September of 2020, growth months have outnumbered decline months 11-to-2

AUSTIN – Data from the Workforce Commission suggests that Texas upstream oil and gas employment continued its climb in October, expanding by 2,300 jobs. Since the low point in employment in September of 2020, growth months have outnumbered decline months 11-to-2. For the past six months, employment gains have exceeded 1,500 jobs every month with an average monthly gain of 2,500 jobs.

At 183,400 upstream jobs this past October, jobs are up by 22,800, or 14.2%, from October of 2020. Since the low point in September of 2020, industry has added 25,900 Texas upstream jobs.

“The Texas oil and natural gas industry continues to recover jobs following the global pandemic and each job added signals a stronger economy, environment and energy future,” said Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association (TXOGA). “However, this growth is not guaranteed and we must not forfeit energy freedom for energy dependence. We must instead continue to encourage smart, science-based policies that advocate for homegrown production, domestic jobs and economic advancement that benefits all Texans and every American.”

The upstream sector involves oil and natural gas extraction and excludes other industry sectors such as refining, petrochemicals, fuels wholesaling, oilfield equipment manufacturing, pipelines, and gas utilities, which support hundreds of thousands of additional jobs in Texas. The employment shown also includes “Support Activities for Mining,” which is mostly oil and gas-related but also includes some small amount of other types of mining.

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