Oil and Gas Workers Still Unemployed
Researchers at the University of Houston report that 90% of the oil and gas workers who lost their jobs are still unemployed or have left the industry.
Related: New Eagle Ford Refinery to Bring Jobs
Since the oil boom turned to bust over two years ago, 100,000 oil and gas industry workers in Texas have lost jobs. In an ongoing study by the University of Houston, researchers polled 720 laid-off workers and found the following:
- 25% have found work outside of the oil and gas industry
- More than 60% of them remain out of work
- 13% of them have found new jobs within the industry
- More 70 % said they’re nervous about the industry’s future
- 55 % said they’re considering giving up on the sector entirely
- 2/3 of them complained about the way their companies’ layoffs were handled
“A good number of people are lost to other industries. Oil and gas impacts just about everything here in all parts of our economy.”
On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas forecasts a 2 percent job growth in Texas for 2017 as the state pulls out of the slump. This translates into 242,000 more jobs for Texans.