FUELS & SUPPLY
“ ”
Reversal of Misfortune: Oil in the U.S.
Finally, by 2018, the U.S. was in a prolonged period of economic expansion, and unemployment rates had fallen dramatically to 3.9%. Five of the seven shale states (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas) managed nonetheless to achieve rates below the U.S. average.
In 2010, the Shale Boom was in full swing. The U.S. economy still was reeling from the Great Recession, and the unemployment rate averaged 9.61% that year. All seven of the shale states achieved lower rates of unemployment—North Dakota by a huge margin. In North Dakota, unemployment averaged only 3.8%. Figure 8 plots the data from 2010.
Figure 8:
Shale States Unemployment 2010 Vs. U.S. Average, %
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
In 2015, as noted, crude oil prices were suppressed by the Saudiled price war, and the U.S. active oil and gas rig count was falling. Nonetheless, six of the seven shale states (all of them except for New Mexico), achieved unemployment rates below the U.S. average of 5.27% that year. Figure 9 presents the comparison. Once again, North Dakota had an astonishingly low rate—a mere 2.7%.
Finally, by 2018, the U.S. was in a prolonged period of economic expansion, and unemployment rates had fallen dramatically to 3.9%. Five of the seven shale states (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas) managed nonetheless to achieve rates below the U.S. average, as shown in Figure 10.
Figure 9:
Figure 10:
Shale States Unemployment 2015 Vs. U.S. Average, %
Shale States Unemployment 2018 Vs. U.S. Average, %
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
FMN Magazine
25
FuelsMarketNews.com