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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Does Texas employ more people in the renewable energy sector than in the oil and gas sector?

Thursday, October 29, 2020

By Bakar Wilson

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Despite the growth of renewable energy in the state, oil and gas still employs more Texans than renewables—for now.

In June 2020, about 162,000 Texans worked in oil and gas, according to the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, down from a high of nearly 300,000 in 2014. Employment in the industry may hit its lowest point in 15 years due to a pandemic-related drop in demand and prices.

In 2018, over 233,000 people worked in renewable energy across Texas. The industry wasn't spared from pandemic-related layoffs. Estimates indicate that renewables companies have cut about 96,000 jobs in Texas, Bloomberg reports, which would leave the about 137,000 jobs in the field.

Bloomberg reports that clean energy companies are now trying to recruit laid-off workers from oil and gas companies, betting that they're better positioned to recover than fossil-fuel firms.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Houston Chronicle: Oil and gas production jobs in Texas could hit bottom this fall

E2: Clean Jobs America

Bloomberg: Oil-bust refugees are being courted by clean energy in Texas

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.