OIL EXPOSURE
Between 2014 and 2015, the 41 counties in South Texas together shed about 6,000
oil field jobs. This region accounted for nearly one-quarter of all jobs lost in the state’s
oil and gas industry. Nearly 5,000 of those positions were in support activities. About
1,200 positions were involved in drilling oil and gas wells, and some 200 positions were
in oil and gas extraction. According to the IMPLAN model, each direct job lost in the
oil field in South Texas would have led to another full-time-equivalent job disappearing
in other industries within the region, from health care and accommodation to
professional services and retail trade.
Direct Oil & Gas Production Employment Shares
8%
4%
3.5%
2.3%
2.3%
Texas
South Texas
2%
In 2015,
this region
alone cut
more than
2,600 oil
field jobs. . .
0%
Coastal Bend
Corpus Christi
Source: EMSI, 2015Q4.
The wider 12-county Coastal Bend area of South Texas was particularly affected
by the downturn in shale oil production, particularly McMullen and Live Oak counties
that sit atop the Eagle Ford play. Oil and gas production accounted for 6.2 percent
of employment in the Coastal Bend as opposed to 2.3 percent for the broader South
Texas region. In 2015, this region alone cut more than 2,600 oil field jobs, nearly half
of the job losses in South Texas. The impact within the Corpus Christi MSA was much
more limited than in the “oil patch” areas.
Annual Review of South Texas Economy
SHALE OIL CYCLE
6.2%
6%
7