Federal Economic Data Makes Clear the Marcellus Shale’s Positive Impact Across the Commonwealth

Canonsburg, Pa. –  The Mighty Marcellus Shale – the world’s second largest natural gas field – continues to be a driving economic force in the Commonwealth, helping to create jobs for tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians, revitalizing rural economies, generating millions in tax revenue, bolstering small business and manufacturing growth and creating opportunities for a host of other industries across the region. Because of the ‘enormous’ benefits associated with clean-burning, American natural gas – as President Obama said in a recent speech – an American Renewal is underway in the region.

And while tens of thousands of good-paying, Pennsylvania jobs, tied directly to responsible Marcellus Shale development, have been created – upwards of 212,000 jobs over the coming years, according to Penn State University experts – data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), an arm of the Labor Department and the “the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics,” clearly demonstrates this connection.

What follows is an overview of BLS economic data – specific to “Natural Resources and Mining” jobs [direct natural gas production-related employment is accounted here] – from 2009 to 2010 in key Marcellus Shale producing counties across the Commonwealth, as well as the number of Marcellus wells drilled in each county during that same time period. Of important note, 1,224 construction-related jobs were created in these Marcellus-producing counties during the same period, according to BLS data. This uptick in construction-related employment is attributable to the robust supply chain supporting Marcellus development.