Wells Fargo Study: 60% of New PA Jobs from Gas Drilling

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jobsWells Fargo Securities economists recently issued a report on the effects of Marcellus Shale drilling on Pennsylvania jobs (a copy of the 12-page report is embedded below). The report offers both an optimistic and pessimistic forecast of job growth, along with what they believe to be a realistic forecast. And all of their numbers are backed up with plenty of commentary so the reader understands why they predict what they predict. The bottom line?

Wells Fargo’s most realistic scenario projects that Pennsylvania will add an additional 570,000 jobs by the end of 2020—in eight short years. Of those jobs, approximately 100,000 will be created in what they call “primary shale” counties—counties where drilling is happening—and those jobs are directly or indirectly attributable to shale drilling. Another 250,000 jobs (out of 470,000) in non-primary shale counties will be added by 2020 because of shale drilling, according to Wells Fargo. An astonishing 60 percent of new jobs created in PA over the next eight years will be directly or indirectly attributable to Marcellus Shale drilling.