Shale Supply Chain To Add 233,000 American Jobs

Firms supplying goods and services to shale oil and gas producers will create more than 233,00 new American jobs over the next ten years, according to a new report.

Washington, DC  – Firms supplying goods and services to shale oil and gas producers will create more than 233,00 new American jobs over the next ten years, according to a new report by IHS Global, Inc. prepared for the Energy Equipment and Infrastrucure Alliance (EEIA). The new jobs are in addition to 524,000 existing shale energy supply chain jobs, bringing the total to more than 757,000 over the next decade. By 2025 the sector’s workforce will grow 44 percent.

 “These are very well-paying jobs, and they exist throughout the country, not just in the shale production areas,” said EEIA President Toby Mack. “And the taxes paid by these companies and workers are benefitting every citizen of the nation.” He added that “lawmakers can keep this jobs boom on track by continuing to support safe and responsible shale energy development.”

Shale energy supply chain workers earn average income of more than $79,000, compared to $68,000 for all American workers. Shale energy supply chain employment will grow by 2.9 prcent annually, compared to 1.1 percent average annual growth of total U.S. employment. Shale energy supply chain companies include construction contractors, construction equipment manufacturers and dealers, logistics companies, well services providers, professional service providers  such as engineering and architectural firms, and providers of materials and supplies such as sand, cement, and steel pipe.

Shale energy supply chain jobs account for 41 percent of all employment attributable to shale energy activities in the country throughout the report’s forecast period. The jobs cited only include those directly attributable to supporting energy operations.

The jobs data are part of a national report entitled “Supplying the Unconventional Revolution: Sizing the Unconventional Oil and Gas Supply Chain.” The report measures jobs, labor income and economic output in 56 different shale energy supply chain industries in each of the lower 48 states, annually from 2015 through 2025.

Gross output, or the dollar value of goods and services produced by shale energy supply chain companies to support unconventional energy development, is expected to grow from $145 billion in 2012 to $206 billion by 2025, for a compound annual output growth rate of 2.74 percent in constant 2012 dollars.

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