Benefits

Jobs & Economic Impact

Key Takeaways

  • Pipeline development, maintenance and operations provides over a million direct, indirect and induced jobs.
  • Continued infrastructure development could generate nearly a million additional jobs each year.
  • Operations and development of infrastructure also provides immense economic benefits to state and local communities through tax revenues.

How many pipeline jobs are there in the U.S?

Natural gas and oil pipeline development has far-reaching benefits across the entire U.S. economy. Between 2013 and 2016, pipeline infrastructure supported nearly 1.2 million direct, indirect and induced jobs, including nearly 400,000 direct jobs. Indirect jobs may include pipeline support services like welding and steel manufacturing. Overall, the natural gas and oil industry supports over 10 million U.S. jobs.

For example, a single major pipeline construction project can generate over 42,000 jobs paying over $2 billion in salaries for workers and their families. Good-paying construction, manufacturing, transportation, and refining jobs are all dependent on pipelines. Pipeline jobs can support a middle-class income or higher, provide healthcare and give families the ability to save for the future.

Through 2035, investment in infrastructure will contribute between $79 and $100 billion annually to U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP). During the same period, infrastructure development alone will support an average of 828,000 to 1.05 million jobs each year in the U.S., with operations and maintenance positions adding hundreds of thousands more. Significant jobs are created not only within states where infrastructure development occurs, but across all states because of indirect and induced labor impacts.

pipelines provide jobs

Federal taxes related to oil and gas infrastructure development will total $304 to $386 billion, while state taxes will total $236 to $299 billion throughout 2035. All states benefit from infrastructure development as there are indirect and induced employment benefits spread to states even where these is no infrastructure development.

Learn how pipeline companies provide quality, good-paying jobs for generations of Americans throughout the country.

Veterans in the Workforce

Veterans come to the civilian workforce with extensive technical and nontechnical skills gained through military experience and training. Many of these skills have direct applicability to the oil and natural gas industry, making it an ideal industry for transitioning service members and veterans.

Pipeline operations, maintenance and development provide high-paying jobs for skilled laborers.

Over the last several years, the number of veterans working in the oil and natural gas and petrochemical industries has been growing. These veterans are diverse, with thousands of female and minority veterans filling positions in all sectors of the industry and across all regions of the country.

Although the challenge of translating military skills to civilian occupations can be daunting for both veterans and hiring managers, the Veterans Energy Pipeline serves as an online tool that pairs veterans with oil and gas occupations aligned with their skills and experiences. The tool also shows where there may be gaps in needed skills to connect veterans with ways to supplement their skills with additional education and training that may be required for available positions.

Learn more about oil and natural gas jobs at Oil & Gas Workforce, an online portal that connects you with opportunities for jobs, education, certification and training in the industry.