Bloomberg recently reported wages for U.S. oilfield workers climbed in September for the third straight month “as paychecks prove resilient amid slowing shale activity.” Average hourly earnings for frontline oil and natural gas workers rose 0.9 percent in September from the previous month to $43.63, according to a report released Nov. 3 by the U.S. Department of Labor. Compared to a year ago, oil pay is up 5.7 percent.
The jobless rate in oil and gas jumped to 6.1 percent in October, according to government data. That compares with an unemployment rate of 0.8 percent a year earlier and is higher than the U.S. overall rate. It’s the second time this year that oilfield unemployment has reached above 6.0 percent as the industry rate appears more volatile than national trends.
Workers employed in the industry rose for the fourth straight month to 119,100 in October.