The U.S. shale patch is seeing the deepest jobs cuts in three years as producers respond to lower oil prices with slowing drilling activity and greater efficiencies through consolidation and cost cuts. Employment in the industry fell by 1.7% in August, per data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) cited by Bloomberg. In contrast, total U.S. nonfarm payroll employment changed little in August and has shown little change since April, BLS said in its most recent publication. In August, employment in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction…