The variety of staff within the oil and fuel extraction business has dropped in seven of the final 10 years, with the most recent of these decreases occurring in 2026, knowledge on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) web site reveals.
In line with the information, which was accessed by Rigzone, the variety of staff within the sector has declined 12 months on 12 months in January in yearly during the last decade, barring 2019, 2023, and 2024.
The variety of staff within the oil and fuel extraction business stood at 187,300 in January 2016, 149,100 in January 2017, 141,000 in January 2018, 141,900 in January 2019, 137,400 in January 2020, 113,700 in January 2021, 110,900 in January 2022, 116,100 in January 2023, 122,000 in January 2024, 119,800 in January 2025, and 115,500 in January 2026, the information revealed.
- Advertisement -
The variety of staff within the sector stood at 116,300 in February 2026 and 116,100 in March 2026, in accordance with preliminary figures included within the knowledge. The very best oil and fuel extraction business worker determine within the BLS knowledge, which spanned from January 2016 to March 2026, got here in January 2016, at 187,300. The bottom determine, 110,900, was seen in November 2021 and January 2022.
The BLS knowledge is taken from the nationwide Present Employment Statistics survey, the information web page outlines. The CES program produces detailed business estimates of nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings of staff on payrolls, the BLS web site states, including that CES Nationwide Estimates produces knowledge for the nation and CES State and Metro Space produces estimates for all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and about 450 metropolitan areas and divisions.
Every month, CES surveys roughly 119,000 companies and authorities companies, representing roughly 622,000 particular person worksites, the BLS web site notes.
The oil and fuel extraction subsector is a part of the mining, quarrying, and oil and fuel extraction sector, the BLS web site states. The positioning highlights that, in accordance with the North American Trade Classification System, “industries within the Oil and Gasoline Extraction subsector function and/or develop oil and fuel area properties”.
“Such actions might embody exploration for crude petroleum and pure fuel; drilling, finishing, and equipping wells; working separators, emulsion breakers, desilting gear, and area gathering traces for crude petroleum and pure fuel; and all different actions within the preparation of oil and fuel as much as the purpose of cargo from the manufacturing property,” the location provides.
“This subsector consists of the manufacturing of crude petroleum, the mining and extraction of oil from oil shale and oil sands, and the manufacturing of pure fuel, sulfur restoration from pure fuel, and restoration of hydrocarbon liquids,” it continues.
The BLS describes itself on its web site as an company of america Division of Labor.
“It’s the principal fact-finding company within the broad area of labor economics and statistics and serves as a part of the U.S. Federal Statistical System,” the location notes.
“BLS collects, calculates, analyzes, and publishes knowledge important to the general public, employers, researchers, and authorities organizations,” it provides.
In line with the Texas Impartial Producers and Royalty House owners Affiliation’s (TIPRO) newest state of power report, which was launched in March, the U.S. oil and fuel business employed 2,043,859 professionals in 2025.
This represented a web decline of 8,368 direct jobs in comparison with 2024, “topic to revisions”, TIPRO highlighted in that report.
“When incorporating direct, oblique, and induced multipliers for employment on the nationwide stage, the business supported 19,282,999 million jobs final 12 months,” the report added, noting that there have been “373,478 direct U.S. upstream sector jobs in 2025, a web decline of 9,218 jobs in comparison with 2024”.
Texas “led the nation” in oil and fuel jobs final 12 months with 476,777 individuals employed within the business, in accordance with the report. This determine, regardless of representing virtually 1 / 4 of oil and fuel jobs nationwide final 12 months, marked a lower from 2024, when this employment stood at 478,732, the report outlined. This employment got here in at 469,847 in 2023, 448,064 in 2022, 415,732 in 2021, and 441,223 in 2020, the report confirmed.
In a press release despatched to Rigzone on April 17, TIPRO famous that Texas upstream employment had continued its downward development.
The assertion, which cited the most recent CES report from BLS on the time, outlined that, in accordance with TIPRO, employment within the Texas upstream sector declined by 900 jobs between January and February 2026. TIPRO identified that this mirrored a lack of 300 jobs in oil and pure fuel extraction and 600 jobs in assist actions, “topic to revisions”.
TIPRO went on to state that, regardless of the downward trajectory for upstream employment in early 2026, the group’s workforce knowledge continues to point out sturdy job postings for the Texas oil and pure fuel business in February, following a decline within the fourth quarter of 2025.
In a press release despatched to Rigzone on April 3, TIPRO highlighted that Texas upstream employment declined at the beginning of the 12 months.
On this assertion, which cited the most recent CES report from the BLS on the time, TIPRO famous that, in accordance with the business physique, employment within the Texas upstream sector decreased between December 2025 and January 2026. Oil and pure fuel extraction jobs declined by 600 to 64,300 and assist actions employment remained flat with 128,600 employed, that assertion identified.
To contact the creator, e mail andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com
