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New Study Reports More Than 53,000 PA Jobs Supported By Natural Gas Drilling
More than 53,000 Pennsylvanians work in jobs supported by the natural gas industry, providing a significant impact to the state's economy, according to a new study released by IHS Global Insight.

"The Contributions of the Natural Gas Industry to the U.S. National and State Economies," the first-ever study to measure the impact of the natural gas industry on the U.S. economy separate from that of the oil industry, found that the industry contributed nearly $13 billion in value added economic output and almost $6 billion to Pennsylvania's economy in 2008.

In addition, newfound natural gas supplies in the Marcellus Shale can translate into thousands more natural gas industry jobs in the near future for Pennsylvania. According to a Penn State study released in July 2009, the Marcellus Shale development in Pennsylvania is expected to create 98,000 jobs in the state by 2010, while generating an $800 million in state and local tax revenues.

"Abundant, clean natural gas is critical to Pennsylvania's economy," said John Pinkerton, CEO of ANGA member company Range Resources. "The natural gas industry already provides thousands of jobs to the state, and as we continue to further develop new natural gas resources in Pennsylvania like the Marcellus Shale, we will provide thousands more jobs in years to come."

According to the IHS Global Study, the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania is responsible for: more than 53,000 total jobs; almost $13 billion in value added economic output; and almost $6 billion in total labor income.

"The jobs in Pennsylvania are just part of an overall 2.8 million jobs in the United States [including 600,000 direct jobs, 700,000 indirect jobs, and 1.5 million induced jobs], that were reliant on the natural gas industry in 2008," IHS Global said in the report commissioned by America's Natural Gas Alliance. "More than 30 states had at least 10,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs related to natural gas."

In comparison, there are a total of 127,246 direct renewable power generation jobs in the U.S., a Global Insight report for the U.S. Conference of Mayors found (October 2008). According to the National Mining Association, the U.S. coal industry has 122,930 direct jobs (February 2009 report discussing economics of mining in 2007). Finally, there are 47,000 direct nuclear jobs in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Labor and Statistics (Occupational Handbook, 2008-2009 Edition regarding 2006 employment numbers).

10/26/2009

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