A new report from the RAND Corporation examines trends across 27 counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia where fracking is a booming business. Nine of these counties are in Eastern Ohio, including Mahoning, Stark, Belmont, and several others. This is the second of five periodic reports that track workforce, economic, and educational trends (the previous one is available here).The reports are commissioned by the Appalachian Partnership Initiative, whose aim is “to build the pool of local workers for jobs in the energy and advanced manufacturing sectors” across the tristate region.
This paper uses Census Bureau statistics to highlight a few key workforce trends:
- From 2000 to 2014, the working age-population (age 18-64) declined in 20 of the 27 counties across this region, including seven of the nine in Eastern Ohio.
- Wages were strong for workers in the extraction industries, which include oil and gas along with mining. Across this region, the average wage for employees in this industry was $58,290, higher than the averages in other fields such as health care ($28,690) or manufacturing ($43,967).
- Within the extraction industry, workers with higher-level education received higher wages: In 2015, college graduates (bachelor’s or above) earned about 37 percent more than those without a high school diploma.
- Roughly half of the workers in the extraction industry possess a high school degree or less.
- Most of the jobs in this industry are being filled by local workers, a sign that employers are thus far finding talent regionally.
In short, oil and gas development has brought decent paying jobs for local workers of varying backgrounds. But can the region continue to meet employers’ demands over the long haul, especially for jobs that require higher levels of education? Not just in drilling per se, but also environmental engineers, surveyors, market analysts, land agents, and the other careers that support this industry? To look into this question, the report examines indicators from K-12 and higher education.
The analysts report eighth-grade NAEP science and math data from 2015. While they cannot isolate the NAEP data for students specifically from this region—they are reported at the statewide level—proficiency on these exams remains troubling. In Ohio, just 35 percent of eighth-graders reached proficiency in math and 38 percent in science. While slightly above the national averages, these data suggest that too few students are on track for post-secondary success in rigorous STEM majors, should they want to pursue that pathway. For a clearer depiction of achievement in this region, future RAND analyses should dig into the state-level data.
Speaking of higher education, the report also offers data from the post-secondary institutions located in these 27 counties. They find that less than 20 percent of college students seek degrees in STEM fields, including math, engineering, or chemistry. With respect to college completion (in any major), the researchers find that at four-year universities, just three in five students graduate. The completion rates nose-dive to a mere 12 percent at two-year institutions.
This report reminds us that the oil and gas industries offer well-paying jobs to capable workers. Individuals with varying educational backgrounds have benefitted as well: The developments have offered opportunities to many workers without higher education and those with college degrees. Yet in order for the region to fully capitalize, K-12 and higher education will need to equip more young people with the knowledge and skills needed to excel in STEM careers. Such is the challenge for the tristate region’s educational institutions but it’s one they can surely meet.
Source: Gabriella C. Gonzalez, et al., Wages, Employment, and STEM Education in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, RAND Corporation (2017).
