Employment in the U.S. oilfield services and equipment sector rose by an estimated 3,069 jobs to 652,090 in January, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) after adjustments to December numbers and analysis by Energy Workforce & Technology Council. December adjusted number of 649,022 is down slightly from the preliminary number of 650,587. Gains in November were made in four of the seven categories tracked by Energy Workforce.
The January increases make OFS employment the highest since March 2020, and continues to reach closer to the pre-pandemic numbers in February 2020 of 706,528. Overall, U.S. employers added 517,000 jobs, exceeding expectations and significantly higher than the 260,000 gains in December. The participation rate remained relatively unchanged with a minimal increase to 62.4% in January, and the overall unemployment rate dropped to 3.4%, the lowest level in 53 years. Leisure and hospitality employers led the January increases by adding 128,000 jobs, while construction (+25,000) and manufacturing (+19,000) added the fewest jobs.
“In January, our industry continued to add jobs to the energy workforce, moving closer to reaching pre-pandemic hiring levels,” said Energy Workforce & Technology Council CEO Leslie Beyer. “I am proud to advocate on behalf of the energy workforce. Even with fewer employees over the past three years, our industry has been able to meet the spikes in demand and is producing close to pre-pandemic levels all while developing new technology and deploying innovative production processes that are lowering emissions. I encourage those seeking a good paying, exciting career, with excellent growth opportunities to look at the energy industry.”
January State-by-State Breakdown
| STATE | 2023 |
| TX | 317,763 |
| LA | 54,450 |
| OK | 49,624 |
| CO | 26,475 |
| NM | 24,388 |
| CA | 23,866 |
| PA | 23,606 |
| ND | 20,280 |
| WY | 15,128 |
| OH | 10,825 |
| AK | 10,107 |
| WV | 9,977 |
