With the preview release of EMSI’s 2nd Quarter 2011 dataset this week, we compiled a list of the fastest-growing occupations from 2009-2011. The jobs at the top of the list might surprise you — particularly if you weren’t aware of the explosion in oil and gas extraction jobs.
The following table shows the top 10 fastest-growing jobs in the nation (ranked by 2009-2011 percentage growth).
| SOC Code | Description | 2009 Jobs | 2011 Jobs | % Change | Annual Openings | 2011 Median Hourly Wage | Education Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47-5013 | Service unit operators, oil, gas, and mining | 41,228 | 46,766 | 13% | 4,313 | $20.46 | Moderate-term on-the-job training |
| 47-5011 | Derrick operators, oil and gas | 23,080 | 25,747 | 12% | 2,267 | $22.22 | Moderate-term on-the-job training |
| 17-2031 | Biomedical engineers | 15,348 | 17,061 | 11% | 1,237 | $36.89 | Bachelor's degree |
| 47-5012 | Rotary drill operators, oil and gas | 28,035 | 30,981 | 11% | 2,656 | $26.40 | Moderate-term on-the-job training |
| 47-5071 | Roustabouts, oil and gas | 74,996 | 82,678 | 10% | 6,484 | $19.06 | Moderate-term on-the-job training |
| 31-1011 | Home health aides | 1,066,250 | 1,143,983 | 7% | 53,867 | $9.81 | Short-term on-the-job training |
| 17-2171 | Petroleum engineers | 28,952 | 30,917 | 7% | 1,936 | $49.98 | Bachelor's degree |
| 39-9021 | Personal and home care aides | 1,020,630 | 1,088,029 | 7% | 50,874 | $8.80 | Short-term on-the-job training |
| 13-1071 | Employment, recruitment, and placement specialists | 205,859 | 218,329 | 6% | 12,654 | $21.64 | Bachelor's degree |
| 43-5052 | Postal service mail carriers | 329,547 | 348,723 | 6% | 21,161 | $25.10 | Short-term on-the-job training |
Where are these well-performing oil and gas jobs located? With our GIS tool, we mapped the data for four of the five fastest-growing jobs — roustabouts, service unit operators, derrick operators, and rotary drill operators. Here’s what we found: Texas and Oklahoma of course have a large percentage of these jobs, but California, Alaska, and other Western states have a fair share, too.
The map below shows every county in the continental US sorted by 2-year job growth in these oil and gas extraction jobs. (Williams County, North Dakota is No. 1 with 1,539 jobs added, which amounts to 80% growth).
Drilling down, this first chart shows the counties in the US with largest number of the four aforementioned occupations.
Harris County, home to Houston and 4.1 million people, has by far the largest number of oil and gas workers, followed by five other Texas counties in the top 15.
What about the counties showing the strongest growth from 2009-2011? We charted the top 15, by percentage change, below.
This is where things get interesting. Drilling has skyrocketed in North Dakota, a big reason why the state has five of the top six fastest-growing counties for the selected oil and gas extraction occupations. And Pennsylvania, which has four of the top 15 quickest-growing counties, has seen a huge increase in Marcellus shale natural gas extraction.
Interested in looking at this or other data for your region? Contact us.
