Texas' oil exploration and production sector added 4,300 jobs in March, the largest single monthly gain since the summer of 2011.

The sector has added 12,000 jobs since September, bringing the total drilling and oil extraction employment in Texas to 169,700 jobs, according to data from the Texas Workforce Commission analyzed by the Texas Oil and Gas Association.

“As our state continues to recover economically from the effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic, continued gains in the upstream sector of the Texas oil and natural gas industry are another sign that life is getting back to normal for many Texans,” said Todd Staples, president of the trade group, in a statement.

The oil and gas industry is recovering from the worst downturn in decades with crude prices and demand rising as more Americans receive coronavirus vaccines and states lift pandemic-related restrictions. Texas lost about 60,000 exploration and production jobs during the global pandemic, which slashed demand for crude products such as gasoline and jet fuel. Nationally, the oil and gas industry lost an estimated 107,000 jobs during the pandemic, according to global consulting firm Deloitte.

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