| dc.description.abstract | This thesis paper examines the effects of changes in the oil and gas industry on local Texas labor markets especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The events surrounding the COVID-19 virus are unique in US history and create a need for unique and specific analysis. The paper analyzes multiple factors when determining results including oil production, oil price, COVID-19 cases, unemployment, and population. Using this data, we will run multiple OLS linear regressions with the aim of finding the magnitude of effect and determining whether the relationships between the studied variables experienced any significant changes during different time periods both including and excluding the year 2020. The results coming from my analysis show an economically significant correlation of oil prices, oil production, and COVID-19 cases with unemployment rate. This relationship also clearly changes between some of the separate time periods that are used in the analysis. | en |
