Economics

Shale Jobs Are Drying Up in the Permian Basin

Radio ads touting Permian Basin jobs have all but disappeared
Ripples from downturn in drilling hurts oil-support industries

Signs of a Shale Slowdown Permeate Permian Basin

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By David Wethe and Catarina Saraiva

October 4, 2019 at 10:00 AM UTC

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Barry Marks can hear the Permian Basin slowing down.

It’s right there on country-music station 96.1 FM in Odessa, Texas, where commercials for shale-patch jobs used to fill the airways. Those kinds of radio ads have fallen by two-thirds, said Marks, the general manager for ICA Broadcasting LLC, which runs five stations in the area.