Texas upstream oil and natural gas sector adds 1,500 new jobs in July

By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square

Texas’s upstream oil and natural gas sector added 1,500 jobs in July, continuing its monthly growth trajectory, the Texas Workforce Commission reports. The state also adjusted June’s job gains, noting 500 more jobs were added than initially reported in the upstream sector, from 3,100 to 3,600.

Since the low employment point in September 2020, there have been eight months with job gains compared to two months of declines.

July 2021 jobs are also up compared to June 2020 by nearly 10%. Likewise, June’s job count was 11.2% higher than the low point of September 2020.

Total upstream employment statewide is at 175,100 jobs, which pay among the highest wages in Texas.

“Continued oil and natural gas upstream job growth is good news beyond the oil patch,” Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA), said. “Every direct oil and natural gas job in Texas generates an additional three jobs elsewhere in the state’s economy. Oil and natural gas are not only essential for our everyday lives, but they anchor our economy and cement our energy security.”

TXOGA and the American Petroleum Institute also released economic impact data in an analysis showing how the oil and natural gas industry has been driving recovery efforts.

The upstream sector includes oil and natural gas extraction and excludes refining, petrochemicals, fuels wholesaling, oilfield equipment manufacturing, pipelines, and gas utilities, which all support hundreds of thousands of additional jobs in Texas.

Oil and natural gas extraction is upstream activity, meaning it excludes other sectors in the industry such as refining, petrochemicals, fuels wholesaling, oilfield equipment manufacturing, pipelines and gas utilities.

According to the findings, in 2019, the industry, directly and indirectly, supported more than 2.5 million jobs (620,330 direct and 1,888,540 indirect), or 13.9% of Texas’ total employment. For every direct job in the oil and natural gas industry, an additional 3.5 jobs were created.

The industry also contributed 22% to the state’s total income and to its GDP.

It contributed $251.2 billion in labor income ($134.3 billion direct and $116.9 billion indirect), accounting for 21.8% of the state’s total income. It also contributed $411.5 billion to Texas’s gross domestic product ($230.9 billion direct and $180.6 billion indirect), accounting for 22.3% of the state’s total.

In 2019, the U.S. led the world in oil and natural gas production, with Texas leading the nation.