I went back to see if the predicted looming E&P RIFs would be apparent in the BLS employment data for upstream O&G. What I found was significant negative revisions to the data for 2020 and 2019.
Instead of the previous gain in E&P positions in 2020, the revised numbers show YOY losses throughout the year. This ties the job losses on the E&P side to closely reflect the OFS layoffs.
The new 2020 numbers show a loss of over 80,000 employees in the upstream sector.
On the positive side, the BLS numbers show month-over-month growth for both E&P and OFS since November.
Revised charts of the latest data are shown below and are interactive at https://www.mudrockenergy.com/us-upstream-oil-employment.