Wyoming Oil & Gas Jobs Dwindle Compared to Pre-Pandemic Levels

In October 2023, oil and gas employment in Wyoming numbered 8,700 jobs -- 500 less than October last year. Before the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, oil and gas employment in the state numbered nearly 12,000 jobs. That's a difference of 3,300 jobs.

The Wyoming State's Economic Analysis Division just released their quarterly issue of Wyoming Insight, an energy index and business indicators report for the state.

The Division's Principal Economist Dylan Bainer states that employment in the mining sector is down 3,100 jobs.

The mining sector sales and use tax revenues, however, continue to improve for the 27th month in a row. November tax and use dollars were up $4.7 million year-over-year; that's just shy of a 50% increase.

Worldwide, there is a growing concern that oil and gas are major emitters of planet-warming gases, and contribute to extreme weather events. Last month the International Energy Agency (IEA) released a report that pushes for colossal changes to the current oil and gas industry, which was brought up in the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (which wrapped up yesterday). The IEA's report would like to see the current investments into the oil and gas sector slashed in half.

“The oil and gas industry is facing a moment of truth at COP28 in Dubai,” said Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA in a press statement on the report’s release. “Oil and gas producers need to make profound decisions about their future place in the global energy sector.”

The Biden Administration continuously bolsters its efforts to shrink the oil and gas industry, firing up Wyoming leaders. On Tuesday Governor Mark Gordon publicly stated that Joe Biden's administration is the biggest adversary to the state. As pressure to minimize Wyoming's largest industry mounts, we are beginning to see large-scale efforts to reduce carbon emissions in the Cowboy State.

Gordon has pledged to make Wyoming carbon-negative, despite pushback. "It was a bold move, intended to make a difference" the governor said on 60 minutes earlier this week. Wyoming's Republican party has passed a vote of no confidence in Gordon, but he says that heat from the right will not deter his efforts when it comes to energy policy.