TIPRO analysis details Texas oil & gas workforce trends

AUSTIN -- Rising production of oil and natural gas in the Lone Star State is opening new doors for Texans seeking employment opportunities with energy companies. A new analysis released today by the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO) indicates the Texas oil and natural gas industry had approximately 90,700 job postings so far this year during the months of January and February, of which 15,375 job listings were unique. Employment opportunities for the state’s oil and gas industry have been most concentrated in the cities of Houston and Midland, which are central to much of the energy activity and business engagements for the Texas oil and gas industry.

According to TIPRO, industry employment postings have held a posting intensity of 6-to-1, meaning that for every six postings, there has been one unique job posting. This is close to the posting intensity for all other occupations and companies in the region (5-to-1), indicating an average effort toward hiring for these positions. The posting intensity for the upstream sector is 7-to-1, which suggests more difficulty in filling positions.

TIPRO’s new analysis also lists the highest number of open industry positions, as posted by occupation, so far in 2019, which have been heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (1,020), retail salespersons (775), accountants and auditors (603). TIPRO’s latest report also shows leading skills sought for open jobs in the energy sector, which include oil and gas expertise (19%), followed by valid driver’s license (15%), and accounting (10%).

Other highlights from TIPRO’s employment analysis include:

• From January through February, the Crude Petroleum Extraction sector posted the highest number of open positions (3,980).
• The city of Houston had the highest number of unique positions posted for the industry (4,973), followed by Midland (1,019) and San Antonio (684).
• The highest number of open positions by job title was customer service associates (734), followed by truck drivers (383).
• The top hard skill listed for open oil and gas positions was oil and gas (19%), followed by valid driver’s license (15%), and good driving record (10%).
• The top common skill listed for open oil and gas positions was management (42%), followed by operations (32%), and communications (29%).
• The top qualification sought for listed open positions was commercial driver’s license (979), followed by Master of Business Administration (226), and Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) Card (181).
• The leading posting source for open oil and natural gas positions was Nexxt.com (6,491), followed by Workintexas.com (5,218), and My.jobs (3,170).