This more intensive use of labor also explains how the industry so quickly ran into labor constraints as it increased activity in the past two years. A sharp, short-run increase in the number of wells drilled now implies a much sharper rise in the number of hours to be worked. Seemingly overnight, the industry is working 24 hours a day to overcome shortages of machinists, welders, geophysicists and managers experienced in assessing and directing projects. Finally, for those who look to a long-term expansion in the industry, the mountain to be climbed is higher than expected. If higher oil and natural gas prices are to lead an industry expansion, they must be high enough to attract labor as well as capital back into the industry.
Employees are no longer a subsidized and expendable commodity.
Expansion from now on would entail higher wages, intensive training and the development of specific industry skills. Economic conditions remain excellent in Houston, with virtually every statistic pointing to strong local expansion. The official figure for wage and salary employment growth for the past 12 months is 2.6 percent. However, to an undercount of 20,900 jobs in the last quarter of 1996 we can now add another 5,775 in the first quarter of 1997. Auto sales continue to grow, making for the best September in Harris County history.