Even with record-breaking oil and gas production, U.S. oil and gas extraction employment fell to 114,500 workers in June 2026, marking the second-lowest June on record, surpassed only by the pandemic's low in 2021. This trend persists despite oil production being up 5% since 2019 and natural gas production up 12% in the same period, with major companies like Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, and ConocoPhillips announcing substantial layoffs. For example, Chevron is cutting up to 9,000 jobs, a fifth of its global workforce, while ExxonMobil trimmed 2,000, and BP shed over 5% of its staff.
The job losses are largely attributed to a decade of industry mergers and increasing automation, rather than falling oil prices. For instance, Chevron's cuts are aimed at achieving $2 billion to $3 billion in savings following its Hess deal, and BP is targeting a similar $2 billion. These companies are prioritizing investor interests, such as dividends and share buybacks, over capital spending on increased drilling, especially during an "oil glut" that negatively impacts profits. This means that despite President Trump's efforts to ease regulations and encourage drilling, companies are not ramping up activity because it is not in the financial interest of their investors.
The type of jobs disappearing fastest are lower-paying, physical roles like roustabouts (earning under $49,000 annually), while higher-skilled positions like electricians and automation technicians are going unfilled. Geoscientists, for example, earn over $206,000 annually. This shift indicates a move towards a less labor-intensive industry with fewer roughnecks and more remote operations specialists, widening the pay gap. While oil and gas production supports hundreds of thousands of jobs indirectly through supply chains and spending—estimated at 850,000 positions for every upstream job—direct extraction jobs have declined by 40% over the past decade, even as production soared to record highs.
The overall workforce in oil and gas production is nearly one-fifth smaller than pre-pandemic levels. Compared to 2014, when over 600,000 people worked in the industry, today it's closer to 380,000, producing 45% more gas and 47% more oil. Even in regions like Pennsylvania, where gas production has stabilized, 30% fewer people are working in the industry compared to before the pandemic. This highlights a fundamental change in the industry, where technological advancements and consolidation allow for higher output with significantly fewer personnel.
