Although the price for a barrel of oil returned to $50.43 in January, Jankowski said the energy industry is unlikely to fill positions that were lost in the layoffs.
“The damage has already been done; we ve already seen so many layoffs in the oil and gas industry,” Jankowski said. “We re not going to see a significant uptick in hiring. If there s demand for more oil, the industry is going to handle it just by taking their existing workforce and giving them overtime or pushing a little bit harder.”
Comparatively, several white-collar sectors have recovered completely from the pandemic, including finance and insurance; utilities; and professional, scientific and technical services, Jankowski said. However, data for Harris County showed nail salons, barbershops, mechanics, hotels, and the arts, entertainment and recreation industry have not yet reached 50% recovery from the pandemic.