Oilfield service companies add jobs for third straight month in May
Oilfield service companies continue to show steady growth in new job creation.
In its just-released May jobs report, the Energy Workforce & Technology Council found continued growth as companies respond cautiously to improving activity levels across the sector.
State-by-state breakdown
* TX - 308,517
* LA - 52,865
* OK - 48,180
* CO - 25,449
* NM - 23,678
* CA - 23,172
* PA - 22,919
* ND - 19,690
* WY - 14,688
* OH - 10,510
* AK - 9,813
* WV - 9,687
The council, citing preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, said employment rose to 633,115 jobs in May, up 3,619 from April. This marks the third consecutive monthly increase in energy sector employment. Since reaching a low of 625,057 jobs in January, the sector has added more than 8,000 jobs, reflecting a gradual improvement in activity and demand across portions of the industry.
"The trend we're seeing is one of gradual improvement. Activity levels are increasing, companies are adding workers, and demand appears to be moving in the right direction. At the same time, service companies remain disciplined and focused on long-term opportunities rather than reacting to short-term market changes," Molly Determan, Energy Workforce president, told the Reporter-Telegram by email.
"Three straight months of gains would be impressive if it wasn't for the obvious oil shock happening in real time. It seems that these companies are staffing up for durability. Higher prices could be with us for a lot longer than we thought a month ago when an end to the conflict looked more certain," Dean Lyulkin, CEO of Cardiff, told the Reporter-Telegram by email.
"The most telling part of the picture is what's happening underneath the headline. U.S. rig activity has been flat-to-down, while employment is rising. That divergence says the growth is being driven less by drilling more wells and more by service intensity and productivity," Lyulkin continued.
He concluded, "These are well-paying, geographically concentrated jobs. The industry now expects demand to hold but isn't betting on a price spike. That's a disciplined approach investors should appreciate. We think the sector has internalized the lesson that profitability beats volume. It wasn't always this way in this boom and bust industry."
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This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 9:59 PM.