Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics (CES) and Brent oil spot prices from Thomson Reuters.
Employment
in oil and natural gas extraction and support activities in the United
States reached nearly 538,000 in October 2014, but then it declined by
about 35,000 jobs, or 6.5%, over the following six months, through April
2015, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Declines
in oil and natural gas extraction and support employment tend to lag
declines in crude oil prices. As prices of North Sea Brent crude oil
fell from their June 2014 level of $112 per barrel, firms reduced the
number of new wells drilled and the associated workforce. The count of
drilling rigs in the United States, as measured by Baker Hughes, totaled 857 for the week ending June 19, 54% below the same point a year ago and the lowest level in nearly six years.
Declines
in production jobs lag oil price declines. In July 2008, Brent crude
oil reached a record-high monthly spot price of $133 per barrel, before
falling to $43 per barrel by February 2009. Oil and gas production jobs
reached a high of 391,000 in September 2008, two months after the oil
prices had started declining. Employment in drilling, extraction, and
support activities then continued to decline for 13 months, when the
number of production jobs dropped by more than 51,000. Most (82%) of the
decline in these jobs occurred after oil prices reached the lowest
monthly level and were on the rise.
BLS data showing declines in
national oil and natural gas production jobs between October 2014 and
May 2015 represent a contraction of about 6.5% of the industry
workforce. Although unemployment rates for states that are heavily dependent on resources production remain well below the national average, the effects of reductions in oil and natural gas jobs are different in key states.
In
oil-rich North Dakota, the unemployment rate slightly increased from
2.8% in October 2014 to 3.1% in May 2015, and Nebraska has replaced
North Dakota as the state with the lowest unemployment rate. Oklahoma's
unemployment rate also increased slightly from 4.1% to 4.3% in that
period. But in Texas, where many reported reductions in oil and natural
gas jobs occurred, the unemployment rate actually decreased from 4.7% in
October 2014 to 4.1% in May 2015, because of offsetting growth in other
areas of its more diverse economy.
http://www.theenergycollective.com/todayinenergy/2242552/oil-and-natural-gas-production-job-declines-tend-lag-oil-price-declines