Earning In Oil & Gas Industry

Average wage and salary earnings in the oil and gas extraction industry were significantly higher than the average for all industries. The average hourly earnings of non-supervisory workers in the oil and gas extraction sector were $18.58, and $16.92 for workers in the support activities for mining, compared with $15.67 for all workers in private industry. Due to the working conditions, employees at offshore operations generally earn higher wages than do workers at onshore oil fields. College-educated workers and technical school graduates in professional and technical occupations usually earn the most. Earnings in selected occupations in oil and gas extraction and support services appear in table 2.
Few industry workers belong to unions. In fact, only about 5 percent of workers were union members or were covered by union contracts in 2004, compared with about 14 percent of all workers throughout private industry.