Forget "green" jobs, it's the "brown" jobs that count!

Russ Steele

I am not sure that California will ever figure it out, but Pennsylvania, North Dakota, West Virginia, Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, Oklahoma and Alaska have broken the code to job creation.  Where you say? In mining, oil and gas extraction.  An article in New Geography has the details:

The six fastest-growing jobs for 2010-11, according to EMSI’s latest quarterly employment data, are related to oil and gas extraction. This includes service unit operators, derrick operators, rotary drill operators, and roustabouts. Each is expected to grow anywhere from 9% to 11% this year, in an otherwise stagnant economy.

But that’s not all. A mixed bag of other extraction and petroleum-related jobs—wellhead pumpers, all other extraction workers, geological and petroleum technicians—are also expected to see healthy gains. In total, nine of the top 11 fast-growing jobs in the nation are tied in one way or another to oil and gas extraction.

While California is breaking wind for their energy, the fossil fuel states will have the jobs and wealth to play a larger roll in future elections. The next great devide will not be between the red and blue states, but between the fossil fuel states that are creating "brown jobs" and those that are blowing in the wind looking for "green jobs."