Texas Border Business
AUSTIN – Citing the latest Current Employment Statistics (CES) report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO) today highlighted new employment figures showing a decline in upstream employment in Texas in the month of December. According to TIPRO’s analysis, direct Texas upstream employment for December totaled 195,500, a decrease of 700 industry positions from November employment numbers, subject to revisions. This represented a decline of 500 jobs in Oil and Gas Extraction and 200 jobs in the Services sector.
TIPRO also notes that the BLS made a notable upward revision to previously reported CES estimates for upstream employment in November, now showing an increase of 300 industry jobs in November compared to October. Employment data for December represents a decline compared to updated November figures following six consecutive months of growth in Texas upstream employment following revisions.
TIPRO’s new workforce data still indicated strong job postings for the Texas oil and natural gas industry. According to the association, there were 9,012 active unique jobs postings for the Texas oil and natural gas industry last month, including 2,931 new postings. In comparison, the state of California had 3,221 unique job postings in December, followed by New York (2,318), Florida (1,627) and Colorado (1,493). TIPRO reported a total of 48,362 unique job postings nationwide last month within the oil and natural gas sector.
Among the 19 specific industry sectors TIPRO uses to define the Texas oil and natural gas industry, Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores led in the ranking for unique job listings in December with 2,291 postings, followed by Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations (2,039) and Petroleum Refineries (657). The leading three cities by total unique oil and natural gas job postings were Houston (2,242), Midland (606) and Odessa (394), said TIPRO.
The top three companies ranked by unique job postings in December were Cefco (947), Love’s (646) and John Wood Group (262), according to the association. Of the top ten companies listed by unique job postings last month, five companies were in the services sector, two in the gasoline stations with convenience stores category, two midstream companies, and one oil and gas operator. Top posted industry occupations for December included first-line supervisors of retail sales workers (523), heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (268) and general maintenance and repair workers (262). The top posted job titles for December included assistant store managers (190), customer service representatives (180), and maintenance people (124).
Top qualifications for unique job postings included valid driver’s license (1,430), commercial driver’s license (CDL) (231) and transportation worker identification credential card (136). TIPRO reports that 41 percent of unique job postings had no education requirement listed, 33 percent required a bachelor’s degree and 27 percent required a high school diploma or GED. There were 1,439 advertised salary observations (16 percent of the 9,012 matching postings) with a median salary of $60,300. The highest percentage of advertised salaries (26 percent) were in the $90,000 to $519,000 range. The advertised salary trend showed an increase of 41.4 percent between January 2022 – December 2024.
Additional TIPRO workforce trends data:
A sample of industry job postings in Texas for December 2024 can be viewed here.
The top three posting sources in December included www.indeed.com (3,903), www.simplyhired.com (2,534) and www.dejobs.org (2,161).
TIPRO also highlights recent tax contributions by the oil and gas industry that support essential government coffers. In December, Texas energy producers paid $431 million in oil production taxes, according to data published by the Texas comptroller’s office. Producers last month also paid $214 million to the state in natural gas production taxes, up 25 percent from December 2023. Production taxes paid by the oil and natural gas industry are used to support major revenue streams for the state, including public education funding, the State Highway Fund, the Rainy Day Fund and other vital parts of the state budget.
Additionally, TIPRO points to new energy outlooks from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showing more growth in liquids production in the U.S. for 2025. U.S. crude oil production is projected by the EIA to reach an all-time high this year, averaging 13.55 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2025 and then increasing slightly to 13.6 million b/d in 2026. Production growth will be driven by more output in the Permian Basin — the largest source of world crude oil production growth in the past 15 years. Domestic production of natural gas is also forecasted to go up this year. Higher prices and increased demand will boost natural gas drilling and production in the U.S. during 2025. According to the EIA, in 2025, the supply of natural gas, including both production and imports, will rise by 1.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), while demand for natural gas, including domestic consumption and exports, rises by 3.2 Bcf/d.
This week, President Donald Trump also signed several energy-related executive orders. TIPRO expects additional policy measures will be implemented under the new administration to advance President Trump’s energy agenda. Energy-related executive orders include:
Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements – The U.S. will withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement as well as any other commitments made under the UNFCCC. The order also revokes the U.S. International Climate Finance Plan.
Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost-of-Living Crisis – This memorandum calls on heads of executive departments and agencies to provide emergency price relief including eliminating harmful, coercive “climate” policies that increase the costs of food and fuel as well as lowering the cost of housing and home appliances.
Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions – This executive order revoked 78 memoranda and executive orders issued by former President Biden. Among these were executive orders that worked to reduce methane emissions in the oil and gas sector, achieve a “carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035,” withdrew millions of areas from offshore oil or gas leasing, set implementation priorities for IRA funding and set AI safety standards and protocols.
Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential – This executive order promotes oil and gas activities in Alaska by easing restrictions for drilling on federal and state land, expediting the permitting process and prioritizing LNG development.
Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government’s Leasing and Permitting – This executive order withdraws disposition for wind energy leasing within the OCS because of impacts on marine life, ocean currents, and energy costs. The Interior Department will also conduct a review of the ecological, economic, and environmental “necessity of terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases.”
Declaring a National Energy Emergency – This executive order calls on agencies to use emergency authorities to facilitate “leasing, siting, production, transportation, refining, and generation of domestic energy sources.” In particular, the EPA will consider emergency fuel waivers to allow for year-round E15 gasoline sales and agencies will expedite construction of energy infrastructure. The general permitting process will likely be made easier and more efficient under the name of a national emergency, with a focus on building out energy infrastructure to more efficiently supply the entire country.
Unleashing American Energy – This executive order encourages: energy exploration and production on federal lands and waters; promotes critical minerals production; eliminates the Biden Administration’s strongest tailpipe emissions rules that had the same impact as an EV mandate; eliminates any other attempts to institute an EV mandate; attempts to overturn the Biden Administration’s recent offshore drilling ban; promotes increased energy production for energy reliability; differentiates between global rules and regulations and domestic, “in order to promote sound regulatory decision making;” and revokes orders from the former president related to climate change that place an undue burden on domestic fossil fuel production.
“Our industry looks forward to returning to some level normalcy from a federal policy perspective under the new administration, including supporting the expedited expansion of energy infrastructure,” said Ed Longanecker, president of TIPRO. “Demand for reliable and affordable energy will increase exponentially in the coming years and Texas producers will rise to meet that challenge in a new era of American energy dominance,” concluded Longanecker.
Information source: Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association
