In Pennsylvania, shale job numbers are hard to pin down  Share
with others:  Print Email Read Later  First, let's establish the
facts. Since the oil and gas industry rushed into the state in
2007, there's been a 20 percent spike in overall employment. The
industry directly employs between 40,000 and 50,000 people, and
many more indirectly.  Ask anyone counting shale jobs, and
that's what they'll tell you.  If you're in North Dakota.  In
Pennsylvania, shale job numbers are harder to pin down. The
estimates can vary by a factor of 10. The debates are heated.
"We keep hearing all the different claims," said Rep. Steven
McCarter, D-Montgomery. "The governor routinely says
200,000-plus [jobs]. You have another economist saying it's only
one-seventh of that. Then the governor comes back and says many
of these are ancillary jobs ... the answer is: We don't have
good information."  In June, Mr. McCarter introduced a
resolution directing the Legislative Budget and Finance
Committee of the state House to study the num