I Got It Wrong on Oil Jobs and That's a Good Thing
https://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2017-06-02/may-payrolls-report-oil-jobs-a-pleasant-surpriseWell, that happened sooner than expected.
Back in early April, I predicted oil-sector payroll growth would finally turn positive again in May, meaning we wouldn't see it until July, when complete numbers would be released.
For once, I'm actually happy I got something wrong -- because that number turned positive in April instead.Payroll numbers for the oil patch were a bright spot in an otherwise lackluster May jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. The ranks of oil-and-gas extraction and support workers rose to just under 391,000 in April, 0.5 percent higher than a year earlier:
Roughnecks Return
U.S. oil and gas employment growth edged back into positive territory, year over year, in April after 25 months straight of declines
The big gains have come on the support side. Roughly 10,000 jobs were added there in just March and April, combined, coinciding with an acceleration in the U.S. rig count and Halliburton Co.'s we-can't-keep-up profit warning.
Industry revenues were buoyed by higher average oil and gas prices in April, on the back of OPEC chatter about extending supply cuts (confirmed last week) and a lingering winter. Meanwhile, wage inflation, especially for higher-paid extraction workers, slowed. So my usual estimate of the industry's wage bill as a proportion of revenue stayed steady despite the hiring spree: