Wages for U.S. oil workers rose above $43 an hour for the first time as unemployment held steady in the shale zone for explorers seeking to stem slower oil growth. production
Median hourly earnings for frontline oil and gas workers rose 0.7% in April from the previous month to $43.28, according to a Labor Department report released Friday. Compared to a year ago, the salary increases by 12%. The relative strength of the shale jobs data bucked a general national trend in the economy that saw the unemployment rate rise and paycheck growth ease.
While wages in the shale patch are forecast to continue rising, albeit at a slower pace, over the next two years, explorers are already starting to report deflation in key equipment costs as demand for oil field services weakens. This could also lead to a cooling in workers’ incomes.
The oil and natural gas jobless rate stood at 1.8 percent in May on an unadjusted basis, government figures show. This compares with an unemployment rate of 4.1% a year earlier.
The total number of workers employed in manufacturing was 119,000 in May, down 3.2% from last year’s peak.
