Mr. Erik Milito - The House Committee on Natural Resources ...

January 2012
Figure 17:
Total Employment Supported by Oil and
Gas Development on Federal Land in Western States*
*Western States (Includes Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah and Wyoming)
Source: Calculations based on information from BLM Oil & Gas Statistics (2010) and
ICF International Rocky Mountain Forecasts (2011)
As Table 8 shows, a return to the 2007/2008 average level of leases and permits issued would be associated with an
increase in employment of roughly 30,000 full- and part-time jobs by 2013, at a time when the economy is struggling to
add jobs. In November 2011, the total number of unemployed residents in Utah was 85,783. <strong>The</strong> number of unemployed
persons in New Mexico during that same period was 61,284. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011).
Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado – the Western States most dependent on federal lands for oil and gas
production – would experience the sharpest jobs growth under a return to 2007/2008 levels. Each of these states
would experience thousands of new direct jobs each and every year over the next 5 years if production levels increased to
2007/2008 levels. North Dakota would experience some jobs growth as well, although it would be less marked since the
bulk of that state’s new production is taking place on private lands.
28