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) today highlighted new employment figures showing an increase in Texas upstream employment last month. According to TIPRO’s analysis, direct Texas upstream employment for June 2023 totaled 208,000, an increase of 2,500 jobs from adjusted May employment numbers. Texas upstream employment in June 2023 represented the addition of 24,800 positions compared to June 2022, including an increase of 3,900 jobs in oil and natural gas extraction and 20,900 jobs in the services sector.

TIPRO’s new employment data yet again indicated strong job postings for the Texas oil and natural gas industry during the month of June. According to the association, there were 13,696 active unique jobs postings for the Texas oil and natural gas industry in June, including 4,692 new job postings added during the month by companies. In comparison, the state of California had 4,655 unique job postings last month, followed by Louisiana (2,328), Oklahoma (1,982) and Pennsylvania (1,666). TIPRO reported a total of 62,700 unique job postings nationwide last month within the oil and natural gas sector. 

Among the updated 17 specific industry sectors TIPRO uses to define the Texas oil and natural gas industry, Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations led in the rankings for unique job listings in June with 3,299 postings, followed by Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores (1,658) and Crude Petroleum Extraction (1,633). The leading three cities by total unique oil and natural gas job postings were Houston (5,065), Midland (1,234) and Odessa (666), said TIPRO. 

The leading three companies ranked by unique job postings in June were John Wood Group (751), Love’s (549) and KBR (492), according to TIPRO. Of the top ten companies listed by unique job postings last month, four companies were in the services sector, followed by two midstream companies, two in the gasoline stations category with convenience stores, and two in oil and natural gas extraction. Top posted industry occupations for June included maintenance and repair workers (432), heavy tractor-trailer truck drivers (431) and managers (342). The top posted job titles for June included field service technicians (106), lease operators (94) and process engineers (70).

Top qualifications for unique job postings included valid driver’s license (2,416), commercial driver's license (CDL) (372), and Master of Business Administration (MBA) (245). TIPRO reports that 43 percent of unique job postings required a bachelor’s degree, 30 percent required a high school diploma or GED, and 28 percent had no education requirement listed. There are 1,370 advertised salary observations (10 percent of the 13,696 matching postings) with a median salary of $50,600.

Additional TIPRO workforce trends data:

• A sample of 500 industry job postings in Texas for June 2023 can be viewed here.
• The top three posting sources in June included indeed.com (5,345), simplyhired.com (3,238) and dejobs.org (2,286).
• Average annual wages for the Texas oil and natural gas industry can be viewed here.
• Leading industry positions in Texas with median hourly earnings, education, work experience and typical on-the-job training is available here.

TIPRO also highlights recent data released from the Texas comptroller’s office showing large tax contributions this summer by the Texas oil and natural gas industry. In June, Texas energy producers paid $456 million in oil production taxes and also contributed $184 million in natural gas production taxes. Oil and natural gas severance taxes are an extremely important source of revenue for state and local governments and are used help to support and pay for road and infrastructure investments, water conservation projects, schools and education, first responders and other essential public services across the Lone Star State. 

Furthermore, TIPRO reports that oil and natural gas output from Texas and the United States will continue to remain strong in the coming months, though is forecasted to fall in August for the first time this year. New data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that after peaking in July, U.S. crude oil production in the Lower 48 will total 9.397 million barrels per day (b/d) next month, a decline of 18,000 b/d from July. After a long-running streak of production gains in the Permian Basin, the most nation's most prolific shale oil basin, regional oil output is expected to drop by around 11,000 b/d to 5.764 million b/d in August, forecasts EIA experts, after reaching 5.775 million b/d in July. Domestic natural gas production in the United States also will slow in August and is expected to decrease by around 100 million cubic feet per day to 97.972 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) in August, according to the latest EIA estimates. Despite the overall reduction in natural gas production in the United States, the Permian Basin is still slated to see natural gas output increase to 23.389 bcf/d, with the highest growth in production of natural gas anywhere in the country.

“Oil and gas employment in Texas is strong and our state remains the undisputed leader for oil and gas production by a significant margin, generating economic prosperity and fortifying our energy security,” said Ed Longanecker, president of TIPRO. “TIPRO and our members will continue to advocate for sound, science-based energy policies at all levels of government to support continued expansion of domestic production and energy infrastructure.”

###