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Industry Group Responds: Oil, Gas Jobs Increasing
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Rhonda Reda, executive director of the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program, Granville, takes issue with a recent story published by BusinessJournalDaily.com that reported the results of a new study, which found sales tax revenues in Ohio have increased in the last two years at a much higher pace than the number of new jobs.
The study was onducted by the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University (READ STORY). Researchers looked at sales tax and employment numbers in the counties where the oil and gas industry is rapidly emerging.
According to the authors of the study , strong shale counties collected $15.4 billion in sales receipts during 2012 versus $12.8 billion in 2011. Through March 2013, these 15 counties experienced another $4.1 billion in new sales activity. Job growth, however has not accelerated nearly as quickly as sales in the strong and moderate counties, but has outpaced nonshale areas in the state, the study showed.
The following is a commentary submitted by Reda that counters the study's findings:
Oil and gas related jobs are materializing in Ohio daily. They have been coming to the state over the last few years since the crude oil and natural gas industry began additional exploration in Ohio’s Marcellus and Utica shale.
Other companies and industries have followed suit as they set up shop in Ohio to support the exploration, drilling and production activities by the oil and gas industry. This includes expansion of engineering firms, trucking companies, construction and industrial equipment wholesalers, environmental surveying and mapping firms and other professional services. Northeast Ohio is also experiencing the rebirth of the steel industry which is manufacturing steel piping used in well construction and in carrying crude oil and natural gas to processing plants.
The latest Ohio Shale quarterly report from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) indicates that jobs in shale-related industries are at 178,280 as of December 2012, up 18 percent from 2011. Another study just released by the Marcellus Shale Coalition indicates that of the 96 percent of new hires from all the Marcellus/Utica shale states in 2012, nearly 20 percent were from Ohio. The Marcellus Shale Coalition study indicates there will be an increase in new hires for the oil and gas industry for Ohio in 2013.
The Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program (OOGEEP) stands by its 2011 economic study which indicated that by 2015, more than 204,000 jobs would be created or supported due to the leasing, royalties, exploration, drilling, production and pipeline construction activities for the for the Utica shale within Ohio.
These are good paying jobs. ODJFS reports that the average wage in core shale-related industries was $76,600 and the average salary for ancillary industries was approximately $58,900, both higher than the $44,000 average wage for all other industries.
However, there are challenges by the industry in filling these positions. Both OOGEEP and the Marcellus Shale Coalition study found that finding qualified talent was one key reason these positions are hard to fill.
OOGEEP is helping students and the public on how to obtain training for these good paying jobs. We have identified and compiled a list of qualified training programs offered by Ohio educational institutions categorized by career path. To date, OOGEEP has identified programs at more than 70 different Ohio colleges, universities, career centers and technical schools. The list can be found at www.oogeep.org.
Our state ranks fourth in the number of wells drilled behind Texas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. The increased oil and gas exploration in the state is helping to turn Ohio’s economy around. Our industry is on track to create and support thousands of Ohio-based jobs in upstream, midstream and downstream activities in more than 30 Ohio geological formations that produce natural gas and crude oil including the Utica shale. But it is critical that we promote the training programs available to Ohioans interested in these jobs so that we have an educated and well-trained workforce.
SOURCE: Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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