Reports Shows Growth, Salaries In Ohio Shale Industry

State labor officials have released the first official report on Ohio's growing shale drilling industry. The report represents the first state-administered snapshot of Ohio's drilling industry and how much it's grown with the advent of horizontal fracturing, or "fracking," along with other technology. Labor officials say employment in core shale industries, like pipeline construction and well drilling, increased 17 percent from the first quarter of 2011 to the first quarter of 2012. During that same year, companies started 36 major projects, including 16 oil and gas wells and five pipelines. The average salary in core shale industries now sits at nearly $74,000 a year. The state Department of Job and Family Services is scheduled to release a similar report every quarter going forward.