Texas continuously exceeded the national economy in terms of job creation and unemployment rate in each month since the beginning of the Great Recession and finding the large shale deposit, which both happened in the same month of 2008; and nowhere is this more evident than in the oil field jobs in South Texas. Indeed, from 2009-2011, Texas has created 49% of all new jobs created in the United States, and the vast majority of these jobs were directly or indirectly the result of the state oil and natural gas boom, focusing on plays like the Eagle Ford in South Texas, the Permian Basin of West Texas, and the Granite Wash play in the Texas Panhandle.
Nationally, the story is almost as good. Investors Business Daily ran a piece on February 19 detailing much of the story of a national point of view. Here is a key excerpt:
The oil and gas boom have led to millions of jobs, and not just where you normally would think. Employment rate is up to 40 percent in the oil and gas fields since the recession started in late 2007. But in the ten states where gas and energy is on the rise, the overall employment rate has also eclipsed the national average.
Direct employment in oil and gas has increased by 40 percent from 2007 to 2013, compared to a decline of about 3% in the general US economy. All new oil production coming online from 2008 reduced oil imports by about 50%, and lower natural gas prices caused by the explosion in supplies of that sort.
IBD points out that more than 100 new plants and factories in a variety of such industries are planned to come online by 2017, and “When all is up and running, another $ 300 billion will be pumped in GDP and 1 million more jobs created.” And it is not just Texas. Over three months between April and July, more than 10,000 new oil and gas jobs were created around the country. McMullen County in the Eagle Ford Shale has the lowest unemployment rate in Texas, at 1.8 per cent.
The question of when the boom comes to an end is always present. As countries including China, Mexico and Argentina begins to jump on the shale drilling revolution, which until now was limited outside the United States.
Most oil companies put the break even point for hydraulic fracturing at approximately $ 80 per barrel. Now the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate is hovering around $ 95, but if it falls near $ 80, drilling is expected to slow significantly. Meanwhile, oil and gas companies rushing to figure out how to keep their rods supplied.
Now there is a clear shortage of engineers and executives. Companies work with universities and even high schools to get more people trained.