The U.S. oil and gas industry is producing more than ever—yet employing far fewer people, a shift that signals a permanent break from the sector’s old boom-and-bust playbook.
Bloomberg reports that roughly 40% of oil field jobs have disappeared since 2014, even as U.S. output has surged nearly 50% to a record 13.8 million barrels a day. New drilling technologies, automation and a wave of mergers have allowed companies to pump far more oil with less than one-third of the rigs and far fewer workers, a level of “brutal efficiency” that industry veterans say is unlikely to reverse.
Major producers including Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Exxon cut jobs again in 2025, and even a return of a pro-drilling White House is unlikely to revive hiring.
With oil hovering near break-even prices, companies are prioritizing profits over payrolls—leaving displaced workers like geologist Shaun Carter permanently on the sidelines and reshaping the future of energy employment.
