Vote4Energy has been busy compiling some statistics which should be of interest to voters in a few very popular states during the final week of the election. And while the bottom line subject matter is about energy, the direct fallout of it is jobs. If there is anybody left who doesn’t understand the link between government energy policy and job growth, this information needs to be put in their hands quickly.

Let’s start with everyone’s favorite state and apparently the new home of record for both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney – Ohio.

• – The oil and gas industry supports more than 230,000 jobs statewide.
• – On average, oil and gas employees make more than $68,000 (66.31% more than the state average).
• – Oil and gas contribute $11.3 billion to Ohio’s labor income and $22.7 billion to Ohio’s economy overall.
• – Ohio has among the highest refining capacities in the Midwest.
• – Crude oil/natural gas production in Ohio equaled over $1 billion in economic benefits as of 2007.

Next up, Pennsylvania.

• – The oil and gas industry supports more than 275,000 jobs statewide
• – On average, oil and gas employees make more than $66,000 (47.64% more than the state average).
• – Oil and gas contribute $14.9 billion to Pennsylvania’s labor income and $28.4 billion to Pennsylvania’s economy overall.
• – There are more than 18,000 oil-producing wells in Pennsylvania.
• – Pennsylvania has almost twelve percent of the nation’s natural gas-producing wells.

And finally, Colorado.

• – The oil and gas industry supports more than 161,000 jobs statewide.
• – On average, oil and gas employees make more than $97,000 (104.23% more than the state average).
• – Oil and gas contribute $10.2 billion to Colorado’s labor income and $20.4 billion to Colorado’s economy overall.
• – Colorado’s oil shale deposits equal the entire world’s proven reserves.
• – Colorado is one of the top natural gas-producing states.

Back to Ohio for a moment, check out the following video where the actual people who are trying to rebuild Ohio’s economy and improve job prospects are doing it. And then ask yourself… do you want this to move forward or see continually increasing regulations tamp this back down? Remember that most of this production is on private land. Leasing on public land is still an uphill battle. And the President is still pushing a very disingenuous “use it or lose it” policy. It’s a popular Democratic talking point, but ignores the fact that the market already employs a “use it or lose it” regimen on energy producers, and the expenses and logistics involved in developing those resources seem to be beyond the grasp of the administration.