GRAND JUNCTION-
With increased oil and gas production in Colorado, two of the state’s largest energy companies reported a 73 percent increase in the number of employees in the last year.
EnCana Corp., The Williams Cos., and their contractors reported an increase from 2,513 employees to 4,344 from 2006 to this fiscal year.
“I’m not surprised that it is growing, that it is growing in the double digits, but because it was that high I was surprised,” said Mesa County Administrator Jon Peacock. “And I was expecting a large number.”
Both companies attribute the growth to expanding operations within the industry and more aggressive efforts to accurately report work force totals.
The boom in energy employees could mean a surge in severance tax dollars flowing to the Western Slope’s energy-impacted communities. Every year the Department of Local Affairs bases its severance tax direct distributions on the number of energy industry employees living in various locales.
