As we've mentioned on this blog many times, energy development is a primary driver of job creation. Developing the nation's abundant oil and natural gas resources could create tens of thousands of additional jobs.

A new Gallup poll proves this point and demonstrates that energy-producing states are among the best in job creation.

North Dakota has been breaking oil production records and sits atop Gallup's Job Creation Index. The Index also shows that the "energy-producing states of Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas are in the top 10 state job markets for the first half of 2010, as they were in 2008 and 2009."

Alaska, another state where energy development is crucial, made the list in addition to Pennsylvania and West Virginia--two states that saw 57,000 new jobs last year from Marcellus Shale development.

The U.S. oil and gas industry is one of the largest employers in the country, supporting more than 9 million jobs and providing the cost-competitive energy that is the lifeblood of the economy.

With the right public policies, the industry could create new jobs and produce more domestic energy to help fuel an economic recovery that would benefit all Americans.