Most laid-off energy workers remain out of work

Nearly 90 percent of surveyed workers who lost their jobs during the oil bust either remain unemployed or opted to leave the oil and gas sector entirely, according to an ongoing study being conducted by University of Houston researchers. Roughly a quarter of laid-off energy who participated in the study — out of 720 respondents thus far — found work outside of the oil and gas industry, while more than 60 percent of them remain out of work. Only 13 percent of them have found new jobs within the industry. The two-year oil bust resulted in more than 215,000 U.S. jobs lost — including about 100,000 in Texas — and many of those workers may never return to the industry. More than 70 percent of the study participants said they’re nervous about the industry’s future and about 55 percent said they’re considering giving up on the sector entirely. About two-thirds of them complained about the way their companies’ layoffs were handled.