The number of employees in the oil and gas extraction industry has hit its lowest level since 2022, data on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website shows.
According to preliminary figures included in the data, the number of employees in the sector stood at 115,200 in April 2026. The last time the figure was this low was in August 2022, the data showed.
The number of employees in the oil and gas extraction industry stood at 115,900 in March 2026, 116,200 in February 2026, and 115,500 in January 2026, according to the latest data. The March figures were also preliminary, the data highlighted. Previous data had the number of employees in the sector at 116,100 in March and 116,300 in February.
The latest data showed that the number of employees in the oil and gas extraction industry has dropped for the last two Aprils in a row. In April 2025, this figure stood at 118,700 and in April 2024, it stood at 121,200, the data highlighted.
According to this data, which spanned from January 2016 to April 2026, the April that saw the highest number of employees in the sector came in April 2016, at 178,500. The number of employees in the oil and gas extraction industry stood at 116,800 in April 2023, 118,700 in April 2022, 113,300 in April 2021, 132,300 in April 2020, 144,200 in April 2019, 142,700 in April 2018, and 145,000 in April 2017, the data revealed.
The BLS data is taken from the national Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, the data page outlined. The CES program produces detailed industry estimates of nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings of workers on payrolls, the BLS site states, adding that CES National Estimates produces data for the nation and CES State and Metro Area produces estimates for all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and about 450 metropolitan areas and divisions.
Each month, CES surveys approximately 119,000 businesses and government agencies, representing approximately 622,000 individual worksites, the BLS site notes.
The oil and gas extraction subsector is part of the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector, the BLS site states. The site highlights that, according to the North American Industry Classification System, “industries in the Oil and Gas Extraction subsector operate and/or develop oil and gas field properties”.
“Such activities may include exploration for crude petroleum and natural gas; drilling, completing, and equipping wells; operating separators, emulsion breakers, desilting equipment, and field gathering lines for crude petroleum and natural gas; and all other activities in the preparation of oil and gas up to the point of shipment from the producing property,” the site adds.
“This subsector includes the production of crude petroleum, the mining and extraction of oil from oil shale and oil sands, and the production of natural gas, sulfur recovery from natural gas, and recovery of hydrocarbon liquids,” it continues.
The BLS describes itself on its website as an agency of the United States Department of Labor.
“It is the principal fact-finding agency in the broad field of labor economics and statistics and serves as part of the U.S. Federal Statistical System,” the site notes.
“BLS collects, calculates, analyzes, and publishes data essential to the public, employers, researchers, and government organizations,” it adds.
USEER
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) 2025 United States Energy & Employment Report (USEER) showed that the energy sector employed 8.5 million workers in 2024, “accounting for 5.4 percent of all jobs in the United States”.
Energy jobs were distributed across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to the USEER, which revealed that Texas, California, and Michigan had the highest energy employment and that Wyoming, North Dakota, and West Virginia had the most energy employment per 100,000 workers.
“The energy sector supports jobs across multiple industries and supports jobs across a broad range of occupations, creating opportunity for American workers from all educational backgrounds,” the USEER stated.
The report revealed that the Fuels sector employed 1,054,400 workers, with a median wage of $62,780, the Electric Power Generation sector employed 933,800 workers, with a median wage of $65,430, the transmission, Distribution, and Storage sector employed 1,463,700 workers, with a median wage of $59,840, the Energy Efficiency sector employed 2,381,700 workers, with a median wage of $59,390, and the Motor Vehicles & Component Parts sector employed 2,633,100 workers, with a median wage of $53,620.
The 2025 USEER states that it delivers “unmatched insights into the energy workforce”.
“As the most complete annual resource, the USEER integrates data from surveys of businesses with existing data produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA),” it adds.
“The report provides definitive employment metrics and workforce intelligence for energy-related jobs,” it continues.
The USEER notes that it tracks energy employment across three energy production sectors (Fuels, Electric Power Generation, and Transmission, Distribution, and Storage) and two end use sectors (Energy Efficiency and Motor Vehicles and Component Parts).
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