MDC board discusses Midland’s labor force Executive director: ‘We have a ways to go’ before rebounding to 2014 levels

Kevin Giddings, left, and Noe Olvera, right, add a section of casing down a vertical well on the floor of Trinidad Rig 433 on Nov. 2, 2016, in Midland County. Kevin Giddings, left, and Noe Olvera, right, add a section of casing down a vertical well on the floor of Trinidad Rig 433 on Nov. 2, 2016, in Midland County. Photo: JAMES DURBIN/ REPORTER-TELEGRAM Photo: JAMES DURBIN/ REPORTER-TELEGRAM Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close MDC board discusses Midland’s labor force 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Employment numbers for Midland’s civilian labor force dominated the economic update presented Monday to the Midland Development Corp. board of directors.

“We watch those numbers closely,” said Executive Director Pam Welch.

She pointed to the May Labor Market Review issued by the Texas Workforce Commission that ranked Midland fifth among the state’s 26 MSAs, behind Amarillo at 3.1 percent and Austin-Round Rock, College Station-Bryan and Lubbock, each with 3.2 percent.

“We still have a ways to go to reach the numbers we had in October 2014,” when the civilian labor force reached 95,612, Welch said. She put the current labor force at 86,409.

Sara Harris, accounting clerk and research analyst with the MDC, told board members a drop from April’s labor force count could have been because the commission made a regular adjustment to its figures.

She also said that “it may be possible” workers who had stopped looking for jobs during the oil price downturn in 2015-2016 may be encouraged to resume their job search.

Large exploration and production companies such as Pioneer Natural Resources and Occidental had largely retained their workers during the downturn, Welch said. The service companies were hard hit by the downturn but have been hiring this year as the rig count rises and oil patch activity increases.

Welch said the city’s labor force and job creation “depends on the price of oil. All companies are waiting to see what happens.”

In the meantime, board members were told the MDC is continuing its efforts to market Midland. Tim Danielson, director of business development, reported attending the recent Institute of Food Technologists Food Expo and picking up a couple of “soft leads” for Midland.

Welch said aerospace and aviation continue to be a business segment the MDC is targeting, even as companies such as XCOR continue to struggle.

The MDC recently signed a deal with Cushman and Wakefield of El Paso to market Hanger A at Midland Spaceport Business Park, she said.