A new study commissioned by the Oil and Natural Gas Industry Labor-Management Committee found that the Marcellus shale play created over 45,000 construction jobs between 2008 through the first half of 2014. The study concludes that:
A preliminary examination of employment data in states related to the Marcellus Shale Play (i.e., Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia) reveals that natural gas exploration has been a strong engine of job growth. From 2008 to the first half of 2014, over 72 million hours of direct and indirect construction labor has been worked on natural gas and oil projects related to the Marcellus Shale. These hours translate to 36,321 actual construction workers (based on a standard 2,000 hours of work) and engaged in oil and gas work that would not have occurred “but for” natural gas exploration in the Marcellus Shale geological footprint. It is important to note however, that based on a more realistic denominator of 1,600 annual hours of work, the number of actual construction workers is 45,402.
Read the full study here.