Brian Binke Featured in Rigzone on U.S. Oil and Gas Hiring in 2026
3/12/2026: Brian Binke, President and CEO of The Birmingham Group, was featured in Rigzone in a report on the state of U.S. oil and gas hiring.
In the article, Binke said hiring across the sector remains disciplined. Companies are still adding people, but not in a broad rush. The market is moving with caution.
Speaking with Rigzone, Binke said U.S. oil and gas hiring “remains disciplined, not aggressive.” He said upstream is still selective, with most activity tied to optimization, maintenance, and targeted buildouts instead of broad expansion.
That is a useful read on the market right now. Hiring has not stopped. It has just become more focused.
A Selective Market, Not a Dead One
Binke told Rigzone that rig counts and pricing volatility are still shaping hiring decisions. When operators feel better about sustained pricing and project visibility, hiring can move faster.
Until then, most firms are adding talent only where it directly supports the business. That usually means roles tied to production, reliability, and operational performance.
This is why the market feels active in some places and quiet in others. It is not a boom cycle. It is a careful one.
Experienced Talent Is Still Hard to Find
Even in a slower hiring market, experienced technical talent remains hard to replace. That was one of Binke’s clearest points in the Rigzone piece.
He pointed to an aging workforce and a thinner pipeline of younger engineers entering oil and gas than the industry had years ago. That is still creating pressure in key roles.
So even when companies are hiring less, they can still struggle to land strong engineers, operations professionals, and field leaders. The hardest roles do not suddenly become easy just because headcount is tighter.
The Broader Data Backs It Up
Rigzone also cited the latest TIPRO State of Energy data. The report said the U.S. oil and gas industry employed 2,043,859 professionals in 2025.
Direct upstream employment totaled 373,478 jobs. The industry also reported a national average wage of $84,574, with total payroll reaching $173 billion.
Texas remained the center of gravity. TIPRO said 23 percent of all U.S. oil and gas jobs were located in Texas in 2025.
Recent federal labor data pointed to the same general tone. Employment in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction showed little change in February 2026.
Whats Next?
Binke told Rigzone that if commodity stability improves, he expects modest momentum in the second half of the year. He pointed to engineering, operations, and field leadership roles as the areas to watch.
He did not frame the outlook as a hiring boom. He framed it as steady improvement if confidence builds.
That is probably the cleanest way to read the market. Hiring is still happening. It is just narrower, more selective, and tied closely to business need.
Read the full Rigzone article here: USA Oil, Gas Hiring Remains Disciplined.
The Birmingham Group continues to track hiring trends across construction, energy, and other project-driven markets where experienced leadership remains hard to replace.
