First it is important to take note of where this information is coming from. The speaker is a representative of the national energy company and therefore will likely not speak poorly of the results of the natural gas project. Then it would be important to fact check his or her claims against other sources and evidence.
Loss of factory jobs led to less in the middle class or you needed to work a white collar job to be middle class. Industrial jobs moved overseas leaving those working in factories without jobs. Middle class jobs no longer included factory work but rather service jobs many requiring college degrees.