Texas Upstream Employment Rises
by Andreas Exarheas | Rigzone Staff
click here to read this article at Rigzone.com
*this article was not written by Roseland Oil & Gas
Texas upstream employment rose in August, the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO) highlighted.
Image by zorandimzr via iStock
Texas upstream employment rose in August, the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO) highlighted in a statement sent to Rigzone recently, which cited the latest Current Employment Statistics (CES) report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
TIPRO highlighted in its statement that, according to the industry body, employment in the Texas upstream sector increased by 400 jobs between July and August 2026, “reflecting a decline of 100 jobs in oil and natural gas extraction (62,600) and an increase of 500 service sector jobs (133,300), subject to revisions”.
TIPRO noted in its statement that Texas upstream employment ended August higher than where it started the year after two consecutive monthly declines. Employment rose from 192,400 jobs in January to a peak of 197,300 in May, then declined in June and July to a revised 195,500, before increasing to 195,900 in August, TIPRO highlighted, adding that that August total is 1,400 jobs, or 0.7 percent, below the May peak.
Measured against the January starting point, upstream employment is up 3,500 jobs, or 1.8 percent, for the year, TIPRO pointed out in its statement, noting that this net gain “reflects a much larger increase of 5,800 jobs from a February low of 191,500 to the May peak of 197,300, following an early-year decline of 900 jobs in February”.
“The June and July losses of 300 and 1,500 jobs, respectively, subsequently gave back a portion of that spring gain,” TIPRO highlighted.
“August’s 400-job increase restored part of the July decline and ended the first back to back monthly losses of the year. July figures, initially reported as a 1,200-job decrease to 195,800, have since been revised and now reflect a 1,500-job decline from June to 195,500,” it added.
TIPRO noted in its statement that month to month fluctuation of this kind is common in upstream employment data over the course of a year. It pointed out that this period “has been no exception, with declines in three of the seven monthly changes recorded so far, including the 900-job drop in February and the 1,500-job drop in July, the steepest monthly decline of the year”.
In its statement, TIPRO highlighted that its workforce analysis “continues to indicate strong job postings for the Texas oil and natural gas industry”. According to the association, there were 11,641 unique industry job postings in Texas during the month of August, and 4,837 new job postings added during the month. In comparison, the state of Pennsylvania had 3,326 unique job postings in August, followed by California (3,232), Ohio (2,775) and New York (2,350), TIPRO outlined.
TIPRO reported in its statement a total of 68,377 unique job postings nationwide during the month of August within the oil and natural gas industry, including 25,470 new postings.
Among the 19 specific industry sectors TIPRO uses to define the Texas oil and natural gas industry, Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations led in the ranking for unique job listings in August with 2,648 postings, according to TIPRO’s statement. This was followed by Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores, with 1,989 postings, and Petroleum Refineries, with 960 postings, TIPRO revealed.
The leading three cities by total unique oil and natural gas job postings were Houston, with 3,014, Midland, with 824, and Odessa, with 525, TIPRO outlined. The top three companies ranked by unique job postings in August were Loves, with 677, Murphy USA, with 360, and ExxonMobil, with 320, according to the association.
Of the top ten companies listed by unique job postings in August, five companies were in the services sector, two were gasoline stations with convenience stores, one was in the midstream sector, one refining company, and was one fully integrated oil and natural gas company, TIPRO highlighted.
Top posted industry occupations for August included heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, with 613 postings, cashiers, with 348 postings, and maintenance and repair workers general, with 345 postings, according to TIPRO, which revealed that top qualifications for unique job postings in August included valid driver’s license, with 2,306 postings, a commercial driver’s license (CDL), with 386 postings, and a transportation worker identification credential (TWIC) card, with 200 postings.
TIPRO reported in its statement that 38 percent of unique job postings required a bachelor’s degree, 32 percent required a high school diploma or GED, and 31 percent had no education requirement listed. There were 2,831 advertised salary observations, or 24 percent of the 11,641 matching postings, with a median salary of $58,500, TIPRO revealed, adding that the highest percentage of advertised salaries (31 percent) were in the $84,000 to $500,000 range.
Tax, Production
In its statement, TIPRO also outlined that, according to data from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts analyzed by TIPRO, state tax revenue from oil and natural gas production “continues an upward trend”.
“In August 2026, energy producers in Texas paid $526 million in oil production taxes, an 18 percent increase compared to August 2025,” TIPRO noted in the statement.
“Texas producers also paid $202 million in natural gas production taxes last month, up four percent from August 2025. This August oil and gas tax revenue growth follows strong collections from oil and gas production taxes this summer,” it added.
“In July, oil production taxes brought in $567 million, up 31 percent year over year, while natural gas tax receipts reached $241 million. In June, oil production tax collections hit $736 million, the largest monthly collections on record, while natural gas production tax revenue was $212 million for the month,” it continued.
TIPRO highlighted that the Texas comptroller’s office also recently released tax collection totals for the state’s Fiscal Year 2026, which ended August 31. For the full fiscal year, oil production tax revenue totaled $5.88 billion, more than 9.2 percent over Fiscal Year 2025, TIPRO pointed out.
“Conversely, natural gas production tax receipts in Fiscal 2026 altogether declined by 1.8 percent from Fiscal Year 2025, totaling $2.43 billion,” TIPRO said.
“Tax dollars paid by the oil and natural gas industry remain a vital funding source used to help pay for Texas roads, public schools, emergency responders, and other essential public services,” the industry body noted.
In addition to state tax figures for the oil and gas industry, TIPRO pointed out the latest federal production forecasts “showing record-setting domestic output”.
“The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) September 2026 Short-Term Energy Outlook projects U.S. crude oil production will average a record 13.8 million barrels per day in 2026, surpassing the previous high of 13.7 million barrels per day set in 2025,” TIPRO said.
“The EIA attributes growth in oil production to primarily come from higher drilling activity in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico, where oil output is expected to average 6.8 million bpd this year, representing a three percent increase over 2025,” it added.
Data hosted on the EIA site displaying annual U.S. field production of crude oil from 1859 to 2025, which was last updated on August 31, shows that this output hit a record in 2025 of 13.662 million barrels per day. The EIA’s September STEO projected that U.S. crude oil production, including lease condensate, will average 13.83 million barrels per day this year.
Domestic natural gas output is also projected to reach historic highs this year, TIPRO stated.
“The EIA’s September outlook forecasts U.S. marketed natural gas production to average 122.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfpd) in 2026, a 4.5 Bcfpd increase over 2025, before production is expected to jump another 4.6 Bcfpd in 2027 to reach 127.6 Bcfpd,” it said.
“The Permian Basin and Haynesville regions together account for more than 70 percent of this production growth, providing critical supply to meet growing domestic demand and support storage additions,” it added.
Data hosted on the EIA site displaying annual U.S. natural gas marketed production from 1900 to 2025, which was last also updated on August 31, shows that this output hit a record in 2025 of 43.2 trillion cubic feet.
In its latest STEO, the EIA projects that U.S. marketed natural gas production will come in at 123.0 Bcfpd in 2026 and 127.6 Bcfpd in 2027. This output averaged 118.4 Bcfpd in 2025, the STEO showed.
TIPRO CEO, Figures Buck Trend
TIPRO President Ed Longanecker said in TIPRO’s latest statement that “August’s 400-job increase after two months of decline shows that Texas oil and natural gas producers continue to hire even as costs rise and markets remain unsettled”.
“Job postings remain strong, production is headed for another record year, and Texas output is the principal safeguard against global supply disruptions,” he added.
“The industry still needs additional infrastructure to move production to market, more dispatchable power and transmission in the producing regions, and permitting reform that matches the scale and capital intensity of these operations,” he continued.
“TIPRO will keep working to secure those conditions so Texas can continue adding jobs, generating tax revenue for the state, and supplying the energy the country and our allies require,” he went on to state.
Recent data on the BLS website showed that the number of employees in the oil and gas extraction industry rose month on month, bucking a trend.
According to preliminary figures included in the BLS data page, the number of employees in the sector stood at 114,700 in July and 114,900 in August. The BLS data page, which displayed figures from January 2016 to August 2026, showed that, prior to the 2026 figures, the number of employees in the oil and gas extraction industry had increased from July to August in only three of the last 10 years.
These figures increased from 144,000 to 144,400 from July to August 2019, from 111,300 to 111,500 from July to August 2021, and from 118,100 to 119,200 from July to August 2023, the data showed. They decreased from 166,800 to 164,400 from July to August 2016, from 142,800 to 142,000 from July to August 2017, from 143,700 to 142,800 from July to August 2018, from 127,300 to 126,400 from July to August 2020, from 122,600 to 115,200 from July to August 2022, from 121,700 to 120,900 from July to August 2024, and from 117,200 to 115,900 from July to August 2025, the data revealed.
The number of employees in the oil and gas extraction sector has declined from August to September in four of the last 10 years, increased from August to September in four of the last 10 years, and stayed the same from August to September in two of the last 10 years, with those coming in 2025 and 2024, the BLS data page showed.
TXOGA
In a statement sent to Rigzone on Monday, the Texas Oil and Gas Association (TXOGA) noted that, according to newly released data from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), oil and natural gas exploration and production employment “increased by 400 jobs in August 2026 compared with July 2026”.
A chart included in TXOGA’s statement showed that total upstream employment in Texas came in at 195,900 in August. This employment has been largely flat over the last few years after seeing a rise from a low of 157,000 in September 2020, the chart outlined.
Since September 2020, Texas upstream oil and gas employment has increased by 38,900 jobs, a gain of nearly 25 percent, the statement highlighted. The statement also outlined that the full economic reach of the Texas upstream sector “extends much further” than the figures seen in the chart.
“These upstream positions support an additional 232,000 indirect jobs within the supply chain and 420,000 induced jobs supported by household spending across the economy,” TXOGA pointed out.
“In total, the upstream oil and natural gas sector alone sustains a total of 848,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs,” it added.
In the statement, TXOGA President Todd Staples said, “one of the best hedges against geopolitical shocks is controlling your own energy supply”.
“The men and women who explore, drill, and produce are an integral reason Texas leads the nation in energy production and why America remains the world’s leader in delivering safe, reliable energy,” he added.
by Andreas Exarheas | Rigzone Staff
click here to read this article at Rigzone.com
*this article was not written by Roseland Oil & Gas