While Oklahoma’s loss in the oil patch figures to be close to 12,000 employees in the past year, in the state of Texas an estimated 288,000 have lost jobs because of what’s happened to energy prices. One report says 72,000 of those are direct losses in the oil and gas sector while the rest, an estimated 210,000 are indirect losses.
In other words, it is a trickle down impact or at least a water shed effect.
Karr Ingham, a petroleum economist for the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers is the person behind the Texas Petro Index which is an index based on a comprehensive group of upstream economic indicators.
Ingham explained the indirect job losses occurred because energy companies are always buying materials.
“When prices go down 60-70 percent, these companies are purchasing 60-70 percent fewer supplies and they need less workers,” said Ingham who said even restaurants and automobile dealerships are affected by the downturn because oil and gas workers stop spending their paychecks at those businesses.
