McMullen County
BY THE NUMBERS
2013
Population
753
Employment
721
Unemployment Rate
3.1%
Wages Per Employee
$55,778
Average Personal Income
$69,791
Sales Volume ($ mil)
4,656
Among all
10
Scientific
Services
2.1%
Finance &
Insurance
2.1%
Real Estate &
Rental
2.1%
Texas
6
4
2
2010
2011
2012
2013
0
2008
than doubled since 2008. Beginning in
2010, the unemployment rate has stayed
around 3 percent, the lowest among all
counties in the Coastal Bend. As with Live
Oak county, most key economic indicators,
such as employment and earnings, have
Unclassified
Industry
0.0%
Government
16.7%
Agriculture
8.9%
Mining
24.1%
Transportation &
Warehousing
17.3%
Information
0.0%
U.S.
8
Industry Composition by Employment, 2013
Other Services
(except Public
Admin)
Accommodation 2.1%
& Food Services
2.1%
Arts & Recreation
2.1%
Health Care &
Educational Social Assistance
2.1%
Services (Private)
0.0%
Administrative &
Support
2.1%
Management of
Businesses
Professional & 0.0%
Change
From 2008
2.3%
129.1%
-2.4%
48.7%
66.8%
6546.3%
Unemployment Rate
Employment Growth
communities in
70%
the Coastal Bend,
60%
McMullen county
50%
has benefited the
40%
most from the
recent boom in
30%
shale oil and gas
20%
exploration. As part
10%
of the Eagle Ford
0%
2008
2009
Shale production
-10%
zone, 29 oil and gas
-20%
rigs are currently
running in this
county. Twenty seven are oil rigs and two
are gas rigs. The majority of those rigs
(72%) operate with the horizontal drilling
method.
The county has fewer than 1,000
residents. Local employment has more
Change
From 2012
3.7%
4.6%
0.5%
5.8%
7.7%
48.8%
Retail Trade
14.0%
Utilities
0.0%
Manufacturing
0.0%
Construction
0.0%
Wholesale Trade
2.1%
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
shown significant advancement in recent
years. Wage earnings per employee
almost doubled in the past five years, and
household income rose even more.
Employment in McMullen county
has expanded remarkably along with the
acceleration of shale oil and gas drilling
activity. Employment increased more than
50 percent in 2011 as a number of new oil
and gas wells began operation. Between
2010 and 2011, oil and gas extraction jobs
in the area increased sharply from 18 to
68. By 2013, more than 100 individuals
worked directly for oil and gas extraction.
In support of the rising oil production
locally, an increasing number of
individuals work in trucking and pipeline
transportation. The two gas stations with
convenience stores have also expanded
their business with the hiring of nearly
40, or 200 percent, more employees since
2008. With little slack in the community’s
labor market, local shale oil and gas
exploration has pushed its unemployment
rate down below 4 percent since 2011.
Annual Review of the South Texas Economy – 2014 Edition
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