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 another month of positive job growth for the Texas upstream sector in 2022. According to TIPRO’s analysis, Texas upstream employment for February 2022 totaled 181,900, an increase of 5,100 jobs from revised January numbers. Texas upstream employment in February 2022 represented an increase of 20,700 positions compared to February 2021, including an increase of 1,900 positions in oil and natural gas extraction and 18,800 jobs in the services sector.
TIPRO also once again noted strong job posting data for upstream, midstream and downstream sectors for the month of February in line with rising employment, showing a strong demand for talent in the Texas oil and natural gas industry. According to the association, there were 9,985 active unique job postings for the Texas oil and natural gas industry in February of 2022, a 20 percent increase compared to January.
Among the 14 specific industry sectors TIPRO uses to define the Texas oil and natural gas industry, Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations ranked the highest in February for unique job listings with 2,712 postings, followed by Crude Petroleum Extraction (1,239) and Petroleum Refineries (905). The leading three cities by total unique oil and natural gas job postings were Houston (3,319), Midland (1,048) and Odessa (541), said TIPRO. The top three companies ranked by unique job postings in February were Baker Hughes, National Oilwell Varco, Inc. and Halliburton. Top posted occupations for February included heavy tractor-trailer truck drivers (413), maintenance and repair workers (284) and software developers and software quality assurance analysts and testers (262).
“Rising global energy demand and strains on oil and natural gas supply exacerbated by geopolitical conflicts necessitate the urgent need for increased domestic production,” said Ed Longanecker, president of TIPRO. “Though the U.S. energy sector is not immune to supply chain challenges and workforce shortages presented by both COVID-19 and the unfolding conflict in Eastern Europe, Texas oil and natural gas operators stand ready to support growing energy demand here and around the world. To successfully meet this demand both today and tomorrow, we must encourage long-term investments in domestic production. This includes taking immediate action on all U.S. LNG export facility and gas pipeline applications, ending the moratorium on new leases on federal lands and putting a stop to the political rhetoric against our industry, including the inaccurate and irresponsible notion that the oil and natural gas sector is taking advantage of the global energy crisis to increase profits. It’s time to work together and develop real strategies to address the energy challenges facing American citizens and our allies abroad,” added Longanecker.
