The number of employees in the oil and gas extraction industry hit its lowest level so far in 2026, and the lowest level in years, data on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website showed.
According to preliminary figures included in the BLS data page, the number of employees in the sector stood at 114,600 in July 2026. June’s figure, which was also preliminary, stood at 115,100, May’s figure came in at 115,400, April’s was 115,200, March’s was 115,900, February’s was 116,200, and January’s was 115,500, the data page outlined.
In addition to being the lowest figure so far this year, July 2026’s figure was the lowest in several years, according to the data page, which showed figures from January 2016 to July 2026. The last time this figure was lower was in March 2022, when it came in at 112,300, the data page revealed.
Although July 2026’s figure represented the lowest number so far this year, and the lowest figure since 2022, it was not the lowest July figure, the data page outlined. The lowest July figure was seen in 2021, at 111,300, the data page showed. The highest was seen in 2016, at 166,800, it revealed.
The BLS data outlined that the number of employees in the oil and gas extraction industry has decreased from June to July in nine out of the last 11 years, with only 2023 and 2022 seeing increases from month to month. Back in 2023, June’s figure of 117,600 rose to 118,100 in July, and in 2022, June’s figure of 121,300 rose to 122,600 in July, the data highlighted.
The number of employees in the oil and gas extraction sector has declined from July to August in seven of the last 10 years, according to the BLS data. It dropped from 166,800 to 164,400 from July to August 2016, 142,800 to 142,00 from July to August 2017, 143,700 to 142,800 from July to August 2018, 127,300 to 126,400 from July to August 2020, 122,600 to 115,200 from July to August 2022, 121,700 to 120,900 from July to August 2024, and 117,200 to 115,900 from July to August 2025, the BLS data outlined.
According to the BLS data page, the highest figure was seen in January 2016, at 187,300 and the lowest figure, 110,900, was seen in November 2021 and January 2022.
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.
According to industry association the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association’s (TIPRO) latest state of energy report, which was released in March, the U.S. oil and gas industry employed 2,043,859 professionals in 2025.
This represented a net decline of 8,368 direct jobs compared to 2024, “subject to revisions”, TIPRO highlighted in that report.
“When incorporating direct, indirect, and induced multipliers for employment at the national level, the industry supported 19,282,999 million jobs last year,” the report added, noting that there were “373,478 direct U.S. upstream sector jobs in 2025, a net decline of 9,218 jobs compared to 2024”.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) 2025 United States Energy & Employment Report (USEER), which is the latest 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 sector employment increased by over 250,000 from 8.10 million total energy jobs in 2022 to 8.35 million in 2023, the DOE’s 2024 USEER stated.
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