Weekend Edition: The US Oil and Gas Sector Creating Jobs |

The US oil and gas sector played a part in the job improvement in 2011 by creating 37,000 jobs directly and 111,000 jobs indirectly. That represents 9% of all jobs created in the USA according to a World Economic Forum report. Remember that these are no minimum wage jobs, these are high quality paying jobs and for each direct job in the oil and gas sector, 3 indirect ones are created.

In terms of GDP, the average annual growth of the sector is expected to achieve 6.9% through 2015. This comes out to more than double the overall real GDP growth forecast of 2.6%. North Dakota and Oklahoma are the lucky states benefitting the most as their unemployment rates remain well below the national average.

For those who like to whine and complain about the oil and gas sector, you need to understand that this sector is benefitting the US on all levels from local job creation to weaning off dependency on foreign oil. The shale revolution will help the US stand back on its feet and potentially tip the trade balance thanks to rising energy exports.

Instead of complaining about the profits of oil and gas companies, why not grab your share by investing? Remember that if you block this industry, you will lose the jobs and the oil will be produced by someone else in the world!

News Roundup

The American oil boom and its impact on Canada

Oil price not as painful as 1980s

Fracking failing to crack China, Europe shale

Natural Gas Production Continues Despite Low Prices

Global oil demand growth steady: OPEC

Blog Roundup

Gasoline ETF tracks Gas Prices at the Pump (Oil and Gas ETFs)

The Satisfaction of Doing Your Own Home Projects (Invest i t Wisely)

Borrowing to Invest (Boomer and Echo)

February 2012 Dividend Income Update (My Own Advisor)

Should You Worry About Gold Confiscation? (FG)