The number of employees in the oil and gas extraction industry has dropped in seven of the last 10 years, with the latest of those decreases occurring in 2026, data on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website shows.
According to the data, which was accessed by Rigzone, the number of employees in the sector has declined year on year in January in every year over the last decade, barring 2019, 2023, and 2024.
The number of employees in the oil and gas extraction industry stood at 187,300 in January 2016, 149,100 in January 2017, 141,000 in January 2018, 141,900 in January 2019, 137,400 in January 2020, 113,700 in January 2021, 110,900 in January 2022, 116,100 in January 2023, 122,000 in January 2024, 119,800 in January 2025, and 115,500 in January 2026, the data revealed.
The number of employees in the sector stood at 116,300 in February 2026 and 116,100 in March 2026, according to preliminary figures included in the data. The highest oil and gas extraction industry employee figure in the BLS data, which spanned from January 2016 to March 2026, came in January 2016, at 187,300. The lowest figure, 110,900, was seen in November 2021 and January 2022.
The BLS data is taken from the national Current Employment Statistics survey, the data page outlines. 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 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”.
Texas “led the nation” in oil and gas jobs last year with 476,777 people employed in the industry, according to the report. This figure, despite representing almost a quarter of oil and gas jobs nationwide last year, marked a decrease from 2024, when this employment stood at 478,732, the report outlined. This employment came in at 469,847 in 2023, 448,064 in 2022, 415,732 in 2021, and 441,223 in 2020, the report showed.
In a statement sent to Rigzone on April 17, TIPRO noted that Texas upstream employment had continued its downward trend.
The statement, which cited the latest CES report from BLS at the time, outlined that, according to TIPRO, employment in the Texas upstream sector declined by 900 jobs between January and February 2026. TIPRO pointed out that this reflected a loss of 300 jobs in oil and natural gas extraction and 600 jobs in support activities, “subject to revisions”.
TIPRO went on to state that, despite the downward trajectory for upstream employment in early 2026, the organization’s workforce data continues to indicate strong job postings for the Texas oil and natural gas industry in February, following a decline in the fourth quarter of 2025.
In a statement sent to Rigzone on April 3, TIPRO highlighted that Texas upstream employment declined at the start of the year.
In this statement, which cited the latest CES report from the BLS at the time, TIPRO noted that, according to the industry body, employment in the Texas upstream sector decreased between December 2025 and January 2026. Oil and natural gas extraction jobs declined by 600 to 64,300 and support activities employment remained flat with 128,600 employed, that statement pointed out.
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