Austin, Texas - Citing the latest Current Employment Statistics (CES) report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO) in mid-April highlighted new employment figures showing another month of positive job growth for the Texas upstream sector in 2022. According to TIPRO’s analysis, direct Texas upstream employment for March 2022 totaled 184,700, an increase of 4,300 jobs from February numbers, subject to revisions. Texas upstream employment in March 2022 represented an increase of 21,700 positions compared to March 2021, including an increase of 3,600 positions in oil and natural gas extraction and 18,100 jobs in the services sector.
According to TIPRO, the Houston metropolitan area, the largest region in the state for industry employment, added 1,500 upstream jobs last month compared to February, for a total of 64,500 direct positions. Houston metro upstream employment in March 2022 represented an increase of 5,300 jobs compared to March 2021, including an increase of 2,100 positions in oil and natural gas extraction and 3,200 jobs in the services sector.
TIPRO once again noted strong job posting data for upstream, midstream and downstream sectors for the month of March in line with rising employment, showing a continued demand for talent and increasing exploration and production activities in the Texas oil and natural gas industry. According to the association, there were 11,433 active unique job postings for the Texas oil and natural gas industry in March of 2022, a 14 percent increase compared to February. TIPRO also highlighted that in February a record number of drilling permits for new wells were issued in the Permian Basin as producers respond to higher commodity prices and the call to increase domestic production to address global supply shortages.
Among the 14 specific industry sectors TIPRO uses to define the Texas oil and natural gas industry, Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations once again ranked the highest in March for unique job listings with 3,167 postings, followed by Crude Petroleum Extraction (1,512) and Petroleum Refineries (1,040). The leading three cities by total unique oil and natural gas job postings were Houston (3,895), Midland (1,256) and Odessa (583), said TIPRO. The top three companies ranked by unique job postings in March were Baker Hughes with (637), Weatherford International (494) and Halliburton (488), according to TIPRO’s analysis. Top posted occupations for March included heavy tractor-trailer truck drivers (489), software developers and software quality assurance analysts and testers (271), and personal service managers (270).
TIPRO’s president, Ed Longanecker, said “domestic production will continue to increase in the coming months, but operators still face a number of obstacles that will constrain our industry’s growth potential, including workforce shortages, higher material costs, and an uncertain regulatory environment. Our industry needs more than a temporary green light from policy leaders in Washington to make the long-term investments necessary to achieve sustained energy security for our country and allies abroad."