From FuelFix.com, the energy blog of the Houston Chronicle:

Jobs in the oil and gas sector have grown 40 percent in the last five years, helping to counteract the tepid one percent increase in total U.S. employment.

The oil and natural gas industry created more than 162,000 jobs from 2007 to 2012 in drilling, extraction and support services, according to a report by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday.

These new jobs helped build up the ranks of the more than 971,000 people working in the industry in the U.S., including about 379,800 in Texas, …

While the recession and the moratorium had a temporary impact on oil and gas jobs, the dramatic increase of oil and gas production created the need for additional employees. Monthly crude oil production increased 39 percent and natural gas production increased 25 percent during the five year time period, according to the Energy Information Administration.

With our economy still mired in a Jobless Recovery, one can only wonder how many jobs might be possible if we unleashed the job-growth possibilities the oil and gas industry offers.

Cross-posted.