US oil and gas extraction jobs climbed to the highest in nearly a year at around 181,000 in March from about 179,000 in February.
The data came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday.
It said support services for mining jobs rose to about 202,000 in February, the highest since May 2016.
And total oil and gas jobs rose to about 381,000 in February, an increase of about 2 percent, the biggest percentage gain since at least January 2014.
Shale production and drilling have picked up as prices got a boost from OPEC producers cutting output.