America’s shale energy revolution is creating and sustanting hundreds of thousands of jobs in diverse sectors of the economy that supply construction, equipment, supplies and services to shale energy operations, and is making the US manufacturing sector more competitive by reducing energy input costs.

As I testified at a House Energy and Mineral Resoures Subcommittee hearing, the shale supply chain is booming and has created more than 450,000 jobs since the energy revolution began less than a decade ago.  New research conducted by IHS Global for EEIA indicates that this boom will generate consistently rapid growth over the next decade. By 2025, nearly 300,000 new jobs will be created, for a 64 percent increase over 2012 employment in the diverse shale supply chain industries.

This continued growth will impact all sectors of the shale energy supply chain. Jobs will be added in businesses engaged in manufacturing, construction, logistics and services supporting energy operations, and will be dispersed across the country. The economic and employment benefits of shale oil and gas development extend well beyond those states with major shale plays: the preliminary IHS Global findings indicate that by 2025 better than one out of every seven jobs in the supply chain industries – more than 126,000 in all – will be in non-energy producing states.

The shale energy supply chain is a major contributor to the US economy and its nationwide outlook is strong for the foreseeable future. However, government action restricting shale energy production would undermine the vitality of the entire sector. Policymakers must protect public health, safety and the environment while pursuing policies that allow the shale energy sector to grow and prosper.