218,500 Texans were employed in the oil and gas industry for August, which accounts for 54% of all industry jobs across the country. 

Many Oil and Gas Workers Still Unemployed

Last week, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported that Texas oil and gas employment expanded in August by 1,700 jobs to roughly 218,500. This makes the seventh consecutive month that Texas has seen oil and gas job growth.

The FED indicated the increase was due to a gain of 2,200 jobs in support activities while noting that jobs for oil and gas extraction fell by 500. Other data from the FED includes:

• Total Texas oil and gas employment has risen for seven consecutive months
• Prices for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose slightly, while natural gas prices fell marginally
• Texas accounts for 54% of the oil and gas employment across the country
• Production impacted the increase in employment numbers; Permian production rose by 62,300 BOPD to 2.52 MMBOPD and the Eagle Ford also is growing, though the Fed reports that estimates may be revised downward on the effects of Harvey as more data becomes available
• Natural gas exports from Texas are growing quickly- Natural gas exports to Mexico rose to 4.5 Bcf/d in June, up from 4.2 Bcf/d in May
• Rig counts have plateaued across the state

In January, researchers at the University of Houston reported that 90% of the oil and gas workers who lost their jobs were still unemployed or had left the industry.