Texas upstream employment increased in April, the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO) said in a statement sent to Rigzone on Friday, which cited the latest Current Employment Statistics (CES) report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS),<\/p>\n
According to TIPRO, employment in the Texas upstream sector increased\u00a0by 400 jobs between March\u00a0and April\u00a02026. This reflected a decline of 1,300 jobs in oil and natural gas extraction and increase of 1,700 jobs in support activities, subject to revisions, TIPRO noted.<\/p>\n
The industry body outlined in the statement that Texas oil and natural gas extraction jobs stood at 63,000 and that Texas jobs in support activities stood at 130,200.<\/p>\n
TIPRO went on to state that its workforce analysis\u00a0\u201ccontinues to\u00a0indicate strong job postings for the\u00a0Texas oil and natural gas industry\u201d.<\/p>\n
According to the association, there were\u00a09,780 unique industry job postings in Texas during April – which TIPRO pointed out was a seven percent increase compared to March – and\u00a04,187\u00a0new job postings added during the month. In comparison, the state of Pennsylvania had 3,036\u00a0unique job postings in April, followed by California, with 2,820 postings, and Ohio, with 2,563 postings, TIPRO highlighted.<\/p>\n
TIPRO\u00a0reported a total of\u00a061,004 unique job postings nationwide during the month of April\u00a0within the oil and natural gas industry. This represented a\u00a0one\u00a0percent increase compared to March,\u00a0including 23,688 new postings, TIPRO noted.<\/p>\n
Among the 19 specific industry sectors\u00a0TIPRO\u00a0uses to define the Texas oil and natural gas industry, TIPRO said Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations led in the ranking for unique job listings in April\u00a0with\u00a02,478\u00a0postings. This was followed by\u00a0Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores, with 1,514 postings, and Crude Petroleum Extraction, with 687 postings, TIPRO revealed.<\/p>\n
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The leading four cities by total unique oil and natural gas job postings were Houston, with 2,613, Midland, with 649, and Odessa, with 429, according to TIPRO, which revealed that the top three companies ranked by unique job postings in April\u00a0were\u00a0Loves, with 591,\u00a0Baker Hughes, with 321, and Energy Transfer, with 295.<\/p>\n
Of the top ten companies listed by unique job postings in April, four\u00a0companies were in the services sector,\u00a0two were gasoline stations with convenience stores, two\u00a0were midstream companies, one was in the downstream sector, and\u00a0one was a\u00a0fully integrated oil and natural gas company, TIPRO noted in the statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Top posted industry occupations\u00a0for April\u00a0included maintenance and repair workers general, with 291 postings, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, with 282 postings, and retail salespersons, with 280 postings, TIPRO revealed. Top qualifications for unique job postings in April\u00a0included valid\u00a0driver\u2019s license, with 1,895 postings, a commercial driver\u2019s license, with 228 postings,\u00a0and a transportation worker identification credential card, with 206 postings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
TIPRO\u00a0reported that 37\u00a0percent of unique job postings required a bachelor\u2019s degree, 33\u00a0percent had no education requirement listed, and 31\u00a0percent required a high school diploma or GED. There were 2,071\u00a0advertised salary observations with a median salary of $53,100, according to TIPRO, which said the highest percentage of advertised salaries were in the $85,000 to $500,000 range.<\/p>\n
In its statement, TIPRO went on to highlight \u201csignificant tax contributions by the state\u2019s oil and natural gas industry so far this year\u201d, which it said have been \u201csubstantial\u201d. Citing data from the Texas comptroller\u2019s office,\u00a0TIPRO said in the statement that the industry has contributed more than $1.715 billion in revenue from oil production taxes between January and April 2026. Texas energy producers have also paid an additional $773 million in natural gas production taxes to state coffers in the first four months of the year, TIPRO pointed out, noting that funding generated by state oil and natural gas production taxes is used to support public schools, universities, roads, infrastructure, and other essential public services.<\/p>\n
TIPRO\u00a0also highlighted\u00a0data\u00a0published recently by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) \u201creaffirming the United States is producing oil and gas at all-time records\u201d. An analysis piece posted on the EIA\u2019s website on May 11 noted that crude oil production set a record 13.6 million barrels per day in 2025. This analysis highlighted that crude oil output grew by three percent, or 350,000 barrels per day, compared with the previous record set in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of that growth occurred in the Permian region of western Texas and southeastern New Mexico,\u201d the EIA said in the analysis.<\/p>\n
The EIA analysis piece stated that dry\u00a0natural gas production\u00a0grew more than four percent from 2024 to a record-high 39 trillion cubic feet in 2025, \u201cwith most of the growth occurring in the Appalachia, Permian, and Haynesville regions\u201d.<\/p>\n
TIPRO President Ed Longanecker said in the TIPRO statement, \u201cTexas oil and gas employment trends this month highlight the industry\u2019s strength and adaptability amid severe global energy market disruption\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs international supply chains remain constrained and global inventories draw at record rates, Texas producers have sustained strong operational activity, supported rising employment, and delivered increasing volumes of crude oil and LNG to both domestic markets and key international allies,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese results demonstrate Texas\u2019 critical role in helping stabilize global energy supplies and supporting economic growth at home during a period of heightened volatility,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cContinued engagement with policymakers is essential to preserve regulatory certainty, advance practical permitting reforms, and ensure the infrastructure investments needed to maintain Texas\u2019 leadership in reliable American energy production,\u201d Longanecker went on to state.<\/p>\n
In a statement sent to Rigzone on May 12, which cited the latest CES report from the BLS at the time, TIPRO noted that employment in the Texas upstream sector increased by 1,800 jobs between February and March 2026. This increase of 1,800 jobs reflected a gain\u00a0of 600 jobs in oil and natural gas extraction and 1,200 jobs in support activities, subject to revisions, TIPRO highlighted in that statement.<\/p>\n
A statement posted on the Texas Oil & Gas Association\u2019s (TXOGA) website on May 11 also pointed out that Texas oil and gas upstream jobs increased by 1,800 in March.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Texas Workforce Commission has released employment data through March 2026, showing that upstream oil and gas employment increased by 1,800 jobs in March compared with February,\u201d TXOGA said in its statement.<\/p>\n
In a statement sent to Rigzone back in April, TIPRO noted that Texas upstream employment had \u201ccontinue[d]\u2026 [its] downward trend\u201d.<\/p>\n
The statement, which cited the latest CES report from the BLS at the time, outlined that, according to\u00a0TIPRO, employment in the Texas upstream sector\u00a0declined by 900 jobs between January\u00a0and February\u00a02026. TIPRO pointed out that this reflected a loss of 300 jobs in oil and natural gas extraction and 600 jobs in support activities, \u201csubject to revisions\u201d.<\/p>\n
Texas \u201cled the nation\u201d in oil and gas jobs last year with 476,777 people employed in the industry, according to TIPRO\u2019s latest state of energy report, which was released back in March.<\/p>\n
The 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. When incorporating direct, indirect, and induced multipliers for oil and gas employment, the industry supported a total of 2,509,121 jobs in Texas in 2025, according to the report.<\/p>\n
TIPRO\u2019s report revealed that the U.S. oil and gas industry employed 2,043,859 professionals in 2025, which it said represented a net decline of 8,368 direct jobs compared to 2024, \u201csubject to revisions\u201d. 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 stated, adding that there were 373,478 direct U.S. upstream sector jobs in 2025, which it pointed out was a net decline of 9,218 jobs compared to 2024.<\/p>\n
To contact the author, email\u00a0andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com<\/a><\/p>\n
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