According to government data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, oil and gas extraction businesses shed 1,200 jobs last month. Including other categories associated with the sector – such as support services, pipeline construction and drilling – payrolls fell by a combined 10,000 positions, according to an analysis of the BLS data by Rystad Energy, a consultancy. The job cuts last month added to the 100,000 job losses suffered by the sector since the pandemic began, Rystad said, underlining the deepening economic malaise in oil-producing areas. “The oil and gas sector is continuing to contract whereas the majority of industries look to be rebounding,” said Matthew Fitzsimmons, a Rystad analyst. “The pace has definitely slowed, but I do think we’re still going to see some small contractions in the coming months.”
Many of the hardest-hit areas will be battlegrounds in November’s presidential election. “There are swing states that have had significant oil and gas lay-offs,” said Mr Fitzsimmons. Rystad found that almost 50,000 energy jobs have been lost in the Republican stronghold of Texas, where polls show Democrat Joe Eiden narrowly trailing President Donald Trump, who has made support for fossil fuels the cornerstone of his energy policy and a key part of his campaign.
Meanwhile, the critical swing state of Pennsylvania has lost about a quarter of its energy jobs – nearly 10,000 – a higher percentage than any other state, according to Rystad. The slide in energy jobs – which are now down by 14 percent since before the coronavirus outbreak – continued as the overall US unemployment rate dropped to 11.1 percent in June from 13.3 percent in May, according to the BLS, as employers added 4.8m new jobs.
States have cut back restrictions on activity that had been imposed to contain coronavirus, allowing industries from retail to construction to expand their payrolls once again. But a weakened oil price means activity in the oil and gas sector remains subdued.
“Oil and gas [extraction] industries continued to lose jobs in June, while most other industries have seen employment start to recover,” said Angie Clinton,