US Job Losses in Oil, Gas Industry Flat in January

The job losses in the U.S that have plagued the oil and gas industry for most of the latest downturn showed signs of easing in January.

Instead of sharp dips, oil and gas extraction, which is categorized under mining by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), was fairly flat with a decrease of just 0.7 from December 2019 to January 2020. Support activities for mining also reflected minimal declines for the period at -2.3.

West Texas Intermediate oil prices declined over the month, and the rotary oil rig count was little changed, the report stated.

In December, the contraction in mining employment was reflected by a decline in the number of domestic rotary oil rigs. That same month, oilfield services, categorized under “support activities for mining,” reported declines of 8,200 jobs. Support activities for mining saw declines for all but one month of 2019.

Oil and gas extraction employment fared better in December, adding 2,500 jobs for the month.

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