# Roustabouts, Oil and Gas

US SOC code 47-5071. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/47-5071

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **44,970** US oil and gas roustabouts, with median pay of **$46,960** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the highest was **73,450**, in May 2014. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/wages-hours-labor-petroleum-industry-1920-3901) of **50,000** from 1920, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for oil and gas roustabouts: Horizontal drilling + hydraulic fracturing, 2010 to 2020. Each boom recovered to a lower ceiling than the last as automation (robotic pipe handling, automated frac monitoring, drone inspections) compressed the labor intensity per well.

Figures: Official statistic (latest count and pay, highest count); Researched context (earliest figure).

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 3.6% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=47-5071&ioType=o) (Official statistic).

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Roustabouts, Oil and Gas employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1860
- Latest US employment: 44,970 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [4]
- Latest US median pay: $46,960 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [6]
- Outlook: +3.6% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [18]

### All 26 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1920 | 50,000 (estimate) | $1,560 (average) | Est., Estimated from BLS [1] |
| 1930 | 75,000 | n/a | Decennial Census 1930 [2] |
| 1987 | 45,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Oil & Gas 360 (industry trade source) [3] |
| 2003 | 32,720 | $22,260 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [4] |
| 2004 | 32,280 | $24,840 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [4] |
| 2005 | 33,570 | $24,880 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [4] |
| 2006 | 41,120 | $25,700 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [4] |
| 2007 | 54,200 | $28,510 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [4] |
| 2008 | 62,540 | $30,610 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [4] |
| 2009 | 61,320 | $31,840 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [4] |
| 2010 | 48,880 | $31,770 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [4] |
| 2011 | 51,540 | $32,980 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [4] |
| 2012 | 59,320 | $34,130 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [4] |
| 2013 | 68,230 | $34,560 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [4] |
| 2014 | 73,450 | $35,780 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [4] |
| 2015 | 71,790 | $36,510 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [4] |
| 2016 | 51,290 | $37,340 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [4] |
| 2017 | 48,140 | $36,960 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [4] |
| 2018 | 54,810 | $37,580 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [4] |
| 2019 | 58,930 | $38,910 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [4] |
| 2020 | 44,710 | $39,420 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [4] |
| 2021 | 34,520 | $38,920 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [4] |
| 2022 | 39,100 | $43,590 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [4] |
| 2023 | 43,830 | $46,340 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [4] |
| 2024 | 45,330 | $47,510 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [4] |
| 2025 | 44,970 | $46,960 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [4] |

## Sources (74)

### Employment series

1. [Estimated from BLS, Wages and Hours of Labor in the Petroleum Industry, 1920 (FRASER archive)](https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/wages-hours-labor-petroleum-industry-1920-3901), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (FRASER)
2. [1930 Census: A Social-Economic Grouping of Gainful Workers of the United States (US Census Bureau, 1938)](https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1938/dec/workers-national.html), US Census Bureau
3. [Estimated from oil & gas extraction (NAICS 211) employment trend, Oil & Gas 360, '1986 Collapse 30-Year Anniversary'](https://www.oilandgas360.com/oil-the-30-year-anniversary-of-the-1986-collapse/), Oil & Gas 360 (industry trade source)
4. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

5. [BLS: Wages and Hours of Labor in the Petroleum Industry, 1920 (FRASER archive, BLS Bulletin)](https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/wages-hours-labor-petroleum-industry-1920-3901), Bureau of Labor Statistics / FRASER
6. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Tool eras

7. [American Oil and Gas Historical Society: "First American Oil Well" (Drake 1859 drilling history)](https://aoghs.org/petroleum-pioneers/american-oil-history/), American Oil and Gas Historical Society
8. [American Oil and Gas Historical Society: "Making Hole" (oil well drilling technology history)](https://aoghs.org/technology/oil-well-drilling-technology/), American Oil and Gas Historical Society
9. [American Oil and Gas Historical Society: "Spindletop Launches Modern Petroleum Industry" (Lucas Gusher, January 10, 1901)](https://aoghs.org/petroleum-pioneers/spindletop-launches-modern-oil-industry/), American Oil and Gas Historical Society
10. [Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture: "Oil-Field Culture" (roustabout hierarchy, boomtown conditions)](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=OI003), Oklahoma Historical Society
11. [Oil and Gas 360: "Oil: The 30-Year Anniversary of the 1986 Collapse" (1986 price collapse and workforce impact)](https://www.oilandgas360.com/oil-the-30-year-anniversary-of-the-1986-collapse/), Oil and Gas 360
12. [Federal Reserve History: "Oil Shock of 1973-74" (1973 OPEC embargo and its labor market effects)](https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/oil-shock-of-1973-74), Federal Reserve / Federal Reserve History
13. [Wikipedia: "Roughneck" (iron roughneck and rig automation history)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roughneck), Wikipedia
14. [CDC/MMWR: "Occupational Fatalities During the Oil and Gas Boom, 2003-2013" (industry workforce doubling + fatality rate decline from technology)](https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6420a4.htm), CDC / MMWR
15. [MIT Technology Review: "The fracking boom is over. Where did all the jobs go?" (July 2021)](https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/07/01/1027822/fracking-boom-jobs-industry/), MIT Technology Review
16. [Gulf News: "Robots on rigs could save US oil companies $7b in wages" (Rystad Energy analysis, 2021)](https://gulfnews.com/business/energy/robots-on-rigs-could-save-us-oil-companies-7b-in-wages-1.1617077747111), Gulf News / Rystad Energy
17. [CBC News: "Oilpatch downturn: Technology advances replace jobs" (automation trends in oil extraction)](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/oilpatch-downturn-technology-advances-replace-jobs-automation-1.4004855), CBC News

### Forecasts and exposure studies

18. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 47-5071 Roustabouts, oil and gas (2025: 45.5 thousand; 2035: 47.1 thousand; +3.6%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=47-5071&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Historical notes

19. [American Oil and Gas Historical Society: "First American Oil Well" (Drake 1859)](https://aoghs.org/petroleum-pioneers/american-oil-history/), American Oil and Gas Historical Society
20. [American Oil and Gas Historical Society: "Spindletop Launches Modern Petroleum Industry" (January 10, 1901)](https://aoghs.org/petroleum-pioneers/spindletop-launches-modern-oil-industry/), American Oil and Gas Historical Society
21. [Texas State Historical Association: "East Texas Oilfield" (1930 discovery and boomtown labor)](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/east-texas-oilfield), Texas State Historical Association
22. [Federal Reserve History: "Oil Shock of 1973-74" (OPEC embargo, price quadrupling, US drilling response)](https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/oil-shock-of-1973-74), Federal Reserve History
23. [Oil and Gas 360: "Oil: The 30-Year Anniversary of the 1986 Collapse" (price collapse, 100,000 layoffs, sector employment decline)](https://www.oilandgas360.com/oil-the-30-year-anniversary-of-the-1986-collapse/), Oil and Gas 360
24. [American Oil and Gas Historical Society: "Petroleum Industry Women" (women roustabouts, Lynda Armstrong 1974)](https://aoghs.org/petroleum-pioneers/women-oilfield-roustabouts/), American Oil and Gas Historical Society
25. [CDC/MMWR: "Occupational Fatalities During the Oil and Gas Boom, United States, 2003-2013"](https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6420a4.htm), CDC / MMWR
26. [MIT Technology Review: "The fracking boom is over. Where did all the jobs go?" (July 2021, COVID collapse and non-return of jobs)](https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/07/01/1027822/fracking-boom-jobs-industry/), MIT Technology Review

### Predecessors & successors

27. [Wikipedia: "Roustabout" (etymology from steamboat deckhands and traveling carnival laborers)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roustabout), Wikipedia
28. [Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture: "Oil-Field Culture" (farm laborers recruited into oil field work)](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=OI003), Oklahoma Historical Society

### Present-day analysis

- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-21
- [O\*NET 30.3 — US Department of Labor](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), accessed 2026-05-21

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.