Marcellus jobs soar 2,076% along Northern Tier; 214,000 Marcellus-Related Jobs in Pa.

Canonsburg, Pa. — New state government data further underscores the enormous economic impact tied to the responsible development of clean-burning American natural gas from the Marcellus Shale across the Commonwealth. Currently, 214,000 jobs across the state are tied the natural gas industry, according to a new Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry report, available online here.

“While our nation continues to face historic economic challenges, our industry – made up of tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians – continues to grow at unprecedented rates, helping to provide good jobs at a time when they’re most needed,” remarked Kathryn Klaber, president and executive director of the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC). “This new data further reinforces the undeniable fact that responsible American natural gas production is an unmatched private sector job creation machine. We take seriously our important work in the Commonwealth, and realize we have an historic opportunity and responsibility to build on this progress in a way that ensures our environment is protected, our economy is strong, and our nation is more secure.”

This week, a bipartisan group of the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation wrote to the White House’s top economic advisor, Gene Sperling, reinforcing the need for the federal government to encourage – not unnecessarily discourage – American natural gas development as a means to create private sector jobs. The bipartisan group of lawmakers, as reported by the Patriot-News, writes:

  • “We are united in the belief that (shale gas development) can continue to occur in a safe and environmentally-secure manner” and that the states are in the best position to regulate the drilling. “As the Administration studies the regulatory issues related to shale gas, we urge you to also consider the positive economic impacts shale gas production has had on Pennsylvania and the potential for replicating this success story in other areas of the country.”

Here’s a quick look at this new government data, by the numbers:

27,000 New Marcellus Hires There were more than 18,000 new hires (core & ancillary) in 2011 Q2 and 9,000 in 2011 Q1

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214,000 Marcellus Related Jobs Marcellus Employment total in 2011 Q1

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$76,036 Average Marcellus Wage Marcellus Wages – 2010 Q2 to 2011 Q1.
This is $29,800 greater than the average of all industries

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3,600 Online Job Postings In August 2011, there were 3,600 (core & ancillary) job postings
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2075.9% Increase in Core Jobs – Pennsylvania’s Northern Tier Jobs added between 2008 Q1 and 2011 Q1