Oil and gas jobs in New Mexico, Permian Basin set for continued growth post-COVID-19

Oil and gas jobs led New Mexico in employment growth this year as the industry recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic amid a regrowth in fuel demand.

Construction and extraction jobs, tied to the fossil fuel industry in New Mexico that leads the nation as its second-largest producer of crude oil, was expected to grow by 10.8 percent by 2028, per data from the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions.

Only three other sectors in the state were projected for higher growth: service and personal care at 25 percent, healthcare at 10.9 percent and food service at 11 percent.

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In the eastern region of the state were oil and gas is most prevalent, extraction and construction was forecast at a 12.6 percent growth during the same time frame, the third-highest in the region, following healthcare at 16.8 percent and service and personal care at 27.8 percent, records show.

The extraction industry was also one of New Mexico’s top employers, with the DWS reporting 62,332 workers in that sector, projected to climb to 69,082 by 2028.

That meant the extraction workforce was second in the state in terms of the number of workers in a growing industry, only to food service which employed 84,339 New Mexicans in 2018 and was projected to grow to 93,653 in 2028.

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Communities in New Mexico’s southeastern region also had some of the state’s highest weekly average salaries, per the DWS’ latest data as of the third quarter of 2021.

Eddy County placed second at an average salary of $1,233 per week, after Los Alamos County – known to be largely employed by Los Alamos National Laboratory – at an average weekly pay of $1,969.

The state’s largest urban area in Bernalillo County was third in the state with an average weekly salary of $1,063, followed by Lea County which neighbors Eddy County in the Permian Basin region and had an average pay of $1,050 a week.

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Specifically, oil and gas extraction workers in Eddy County had an average weekly salary of about $2,272, records show, one of the highest-pay subsectors in a specific region of New Mexico.

Joe Vigil, spokesman for the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association said the industry’s impact goes beyond workers specific to oil and gas operations.

He said the industry supports up to 135,000 jobs through extraction operations and other sectors that provide the materials of services needed for energy production.

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“The clean energy produced by the industry in New Mexico fuels many other jobs and industries such as agriculture, trucking, construction and keeps New Mexicans moving forward daily,” Vigil said. “New Mexico oil and gas jobs continue to grow from the pandemic years.”

NMOGA estimated oil and gas brought $5.3 billion to state and local governments, driving $2.96 billion in state revenue.

The Association said lawmakers in the upcoming 2023 Legislative Session starting in January should enact policies to support the industry as a key driver of New Mexico’s economy.

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“The New Mexico Oil and Gas industry is the second largest producing state in the country, recently moving up from the No. 3 spot,” Vigil said.

“We encourage state government to continue to work with our experts in the field to continue to produce clean oil and gas that fuels our nation and the world.”

Oil and gas job growth was also reported in neighboring Texas, which shares the Permian Basin – the U.S.’ most active oilfield – with New Mexico.

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Together, the two states produce about 5 million barrels of oil per day of the U.S.’ average daily total of about 11 million barrels, per the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

In July, the Texas Oil and Gas Association (TXOGA) said the industry added 6,800 jobs – its second-highest monthly increase in history.

Throughout the state, oil and gas supported 202,800 jobs, TXOGA reported, following an upward trend since employment in the industry fell to about 150,000 jobs in September 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Job growth in the Texas oil and natural gas industry is good news because these high-quality jobs support hundreds of thousands of Texas families and contribute directly to our nation's energy security and our state's economic might," said TXOGA President Todd Staples.

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.