As reported by Bloomberg, a short supply of labor in the US oil oil fields has been creating issues for exploration and production companies all year.

And, according to the story - these issues are expected to continue.

By the numbers, the energy sector’s unemployment rate jumped to 3.1% in November from 0.8% in the prior month on an unadjusted basis.

That said, it’s still well below the long-term average, according to a Labor Department report released Friday.

Just a year-ago, the jobless rate was as high as 8.6% as many workers were laid off due to the pandemic stalling output what with extremely low demand for product.

The story goes on to suggest that labor shortages in US shale have been one of the biggest hurdles holding back production growth throughout 2022.

Despite repeated calls from the Biden administration to boost production amid rising energy costs, energy companies have been limited by their inability to find enough workers to drill new wells.

The number of workers employed in US oil and gas jobs totaled 135,700 in November, climbing modestly for a third straight month, but still down from this year’s peak in July.

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