Oilfield service sector added jobs for fifth straight month in July
America’s energy technology and services sector added an estimated 6,082 jobs in July, a fifth straight month of growth, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and analysis by the Energy Workforce & Technology Council (Council).
The 1.0% growth comes after the sector added more than 32,000 positions over the preceding four months after hitting a pandemic low of 591,413 jobs in February, according to BLS data. Gains over the past five months bring the sector to a net increase of an estimated 38,255 jobs in 2021.
The Council estimates a peak of more than 115,000 pandemic-related job losses. Since then, the sector has restored approximately 38,300 positions, bringing total pandemic employment losses to 76,800 jobs and $8.7 billion in annualized lost wages.
Using BLS data, the Council, in consultation with researchers from the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston, found that reductions were heaviest in April 2020, when the sector shed 57,294 jobs — the largest one-month total since at least 2013.
Sector employment has grown at an average monthly rate of 0.4% in 2021 as companies have focused on reducing debt, repaying investors and investing in research and development instead of boosting production. Employment in the sector is down 10.9% since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.
Below are the top states for employment in the energy technology and services sector, and estimated job gains in July 2021 compared to the same month in 2020, according to BLS data:
Texas — 306,800, +9,740 jobs
Louisiana — 52,580, +1,670
Oklahoma — 47,920, +1,520
Colorado — 25,570, +810
New Mexico — 23,550, +750
California — 23,050, +730
Pennsylvania — 22,800, +720
North Dakota — 19,580, +620
Wyoming — 14,600, +460
Ohio — 10,450, +330
Alaska — 9,760, +310
West Virginia — 9,630, +310
