The job market in the US shale patch is showing further tightness as drillers struggle to find enough workers to meet output targets this year, according to a Labor Department report released Friday.
The unemployment rate fell to 2.5% in September from 2.6% in the prior month on an unadjusted basis, government figures show. That compares with an unemployment rate of 7.3% a year ago.
Labor shortages in the oilfield have been one of the biggest hurdles holding back production growth. The inability to find enough workers to drill new wells and frack them could pose an additional challenge to the Biden administration as it pushes for more output after OPEC+’s decision to cut supply.
Read more: Biden team seethes over OPEC+ cut that darkens election outlook
The number of workers employed in US oil and gas jobs totaled 133,800 last month, down 4.8% from this year’s peak in July.
The broader mining and logging industry, of which oil and gas is a part, is the farthest behind of any sector in recovering its pandemic job losses, down 7.7% from February 2020.
