Texas Border Business

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AUSTIN – New data from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) indicate that upstream oil and natural gas employment grew by 1,000 in August compared to July. Today’s data mark four out of seven months so far this calendar year in which the job count has increased, and the third monthly increase in a row.  

“Month after month, Texas continues to demonstrate its strength as a production powerhouse, rising to meet the growing energy needs of our state, nation, and allies around the world,” said Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil & Gas Association. “Upstream job growth reflects the sustained demand for these indispensable resources and underscores the industry’s unwavering commitment to energy leadership, keeping Texas at the forefront of the global energy landscape.”

Since the COVID-low point of September of 2020, the industry has added 37,400 Texas upstream jobs, averaging growth of 791 jobs per month. Since the COVID-low point, months with upstream oil and gas employment increases have outnumbered those with decrease by 36 to 11. These jobs pay among the highest wages in Texas, with employers in oil and natural gas paying an average salary of approximately $124,000 in 2023.

The upstream sector involves oil and natural gas extraction and excludes other industry sectors such as refining, petrochemicals, fuels wholesaling, oilfield equipment manufacturing, pipelines, and gas utilities, which support hundreds of thousands of additional jobs across Texas. The employment shown also includes “Support Activities for Mining,” which is mostly oil and gas-related but also includes some small amount of other types of mining.

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