Page 8 - NorthAmOil Week 02 2023

NorthAmOil PERFORMANCE NorthAmOil

US oilfield service jobs exceed 650,000,

nearing pre-pandemic levels

US JOBS in the US oilfield services and equipment “Our industry is hiring and continues to build
sector rose by an estimated 4,677 to 650,587 in on its workforce across America to ensure we are
December, according to preliminary data from meeting the growing global demand for energy,”
the US Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS). said the Energy Workforce & Technology Coun-
November’s adjusted figure of 645,910 is up cil’s CEO, Leslie Beyer.
from the preliminary figure of 645,486. Gains in “The trending increase in hiring is encour-
December were made in five of the seven cate- aging for our industry and workforce that was
gories tracked by the BLS’ Energy Workforce & forced to make significant reductions in 2020.
Technology Council. Even with a reduced workforce, our industry
The December increases make oilfield ser- has been able to meet the spikes in demand and
vices employment numbers the highest since is producing close to pre-pandemic levels while
they started to drop in March 2020 amid the developing new technology and deploying inno-
start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, vative production processes that are lowering
and roughly 56,000 off the pre-pandemic level of emissions,” she continued.
706,528 in February 2020. “Further investments and a level regulatory
Texas accounted for 317,031 jobs, Louisiana landscape are needed to unlock the full power of
for 54,324 and Oklahoma for 49,510. American energy, providing energy security for
Overall, US employers added 223,000 jobs, our nation and that of our allies while contin-
down minimally from 263,000 in November – uing to decrease global emissions and lowering
a number that was still holding roughly steady. energy costs,” she said.
The participation rate increased slightly to The US rig count – a measure of optimism
62.3% in December, and the overall unemploy- and oilfield service activity – fell to 772, Baker
ment rate dropped to 3.5%. While the labour Hughes reported on January 6. That represents
market remains relatively strong, it is cooling 184 more rigs than the count at the start of 2022,
comparedwith the first two quarters of 2022. and 303 fewer than at the beginning of 2019.™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 02 12•January•2023