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Cheap oil has killed nearly 200,000 U.S. jobs


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Cheap oil has fueled a massive wave of job cuts that may not be over yet.

 

Since oil prices began to fall in mid-2014, cheap crude has been blamed for 195,000 job cuts in the U.S., according to a report published on Thursday by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

It's an enormous toll that is especially painful because these tend to be well-paying jobs. The average pay in the oil and gas industry is 84% higher than the national average, according to Goldman Sachs. The cuts have occurred at a time when many other corners of the American economy have been adding jobs.

About 95,000 positions were eliminated by energy companies in 2016 alone, according to Challenger. Most of those job cuts occurred earlier this year, as oil prices crashed to a 13-year low of $26 a barrel.

But Challenger noted that there was a "resurgence" of energy-sector job cuts in July, when layoffs spiked by 796% to 17,725.

Oil prices have rebounded from extreme low levels, but they're losing ground again in recent weeks, briefly slipping back below $40 a barrel this week. Expect more energy job losses to be reflected in Friday's government jobs report for July.

Few oil companies have been spared the pink slips. Everyone from diversified oil companies like Chevron (CVX), to oil services firms like Schlumberger (SLB) and Baker Hughes (BHI) have announced mass layoffs. Halliburton (HAL) alone has slashed more than 30,000 jobs, including 5,000 during the second quarter of this year.

"The industry has been hit harder than we've seen in the 15 years we've been in the business, much harder than '08 downturn," Jeff Bush, president of oil and gas job recruiter CSI Recruiting, recently told CNNMoney.

And then there are the thousands of layoffs by non-energy companies that provide equipment used to drill for oil like Caterpillar (CAT) and Joy Global. (JOY)

The good news for laid-off oil workers is that some think the pendulum may have swung too hard, creating a talent shortage when drilling activity eventually rebounds. Goldman Sachs predicted the oil and gas needs to hire between 80,000 and 100,000 people by the end of 2018 just to keep up.

The oil industry may need to pay up to lure workers back to the oil patch.

"Not only have laid off workers relocated to other areas for new jobs but, just as in many other industries, a large portion of the workforce is reaching retirement age," said John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas

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the low oil price has created a boom in the road and infrastructure field this has been my busiest season in years, have already put 1.5 mil. gallons through my trailer and season only half over hear

IMG_20140722_055315.jpg

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3 minutes ago, GGNHL said:

Hurts some, helps others. Maine's biomass industry would be better off with $80 a barrel oil or diesel prices around $3.00 a gallon. 

Ethanol would be too.  Thankfully, cheap corn is helping them along.  

I know a lot of the "oil field" cars aren't racing much, if at all, right now around the dirt tracks.  Car counts are down 25+ cars at some of the big races.

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the displaced workers could easily find employment in the road and infrastructure rebuilding trades been busy as hell with limited workers I am running my 70 hour legal logs and could run 24/7 if I could legally do it, I currently run 3 loads a day for roughly 14hr day

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I still say they were temporary jobs anyways. Over inflated oil prices created those jobs in the first place. It only made sense that when prices and demand fell they would disappear. Not like it's the first time this has happened 

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1 minute ago, Capt.Storm said:

Yeah it was dropping for a week or more..lost just a little today..it was up at one point like you said.

 

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18,000 plus is pretty darn good  with oil being in the 40's.

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oil just slightly down so far.

 

DOW JONES INDU AVERAGE INDEX

(Dow Jones Global Indexes:INDU)
18,522.99
Real-Time Quote
As of 3:22pm ET
arrowUp.gif +170.94 / +0.93%
Today’s Change
15,370
TODAY|||52-Week Range
18,622
+6.32%
Year-to-Date

 

Company
Price Change % Change P/E Volume YTD
change
MMM 3M 178.45 +0.64 +0.36% 22.9 53.8K +18.46%
AXP American Express 65.46 +1.52 +2.38% 11.5 294.4K -5.88%
AAPL Apple 107.50 +1.63 +1.54% 12.5 2.6M +2.13%
BA Boeing 131.71 +0.50 +0.38% 24.0 101.1K -8.91%
CAT Caterpillar 82.42 +0.65 +0.79% 42.8 158.0K +21.28%
CVX Chevron 100.36 -0.03 -0.03% 145.4 450.5K +11.56%
CSCO Cisco 31.01 +0.205 +0.67% 15.3 1.1M +14.18%
KO Coca-Cola 43.46 -0.055 -0.13% 25.0 459.7K +1.15%
DIS Disney 95.89 +0.73 +0.77% 17.6 264.6K -8.75%
DD E I du Pont de Nemours and Co 69.18 +0.33 +0.48% 28.0 59.3K +3.87%
XOM Exxon Mobil 87.46 -0.025 -0.03% 28.1 532.3K +12.19%
GE General Electric 31.27 +0.095 +0.30% 37.2 820.6K +0.37%
GS Goldman Sachs 162.00 +3.95 +2.50% 18.2 144.1K -10.11%
HD Home Depot 136.94 +0.88 +0.65% 24.1 133.9K +3.54%
IBM IBM 163.16 +1.61 +1.00% 13.3 152.0K +18.56%
Edited by Capt.Storm
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other half of the dow..

Company
Price Change % Change P/E Volume YTD
change
INTC Intel 35.01 +0.43 +1.24% 17.0 1.1M +1.63%
JNJ Johnson & Johnson 123.94 +0.08 +0.06% 22.6 307.6K +20.67%
JPM JPMorgan Chase 66.29 +1.73 +2.68% 11.2 859.8K +0.39%
MCD McDonald's 119.10 +0.80 +0.68% 23.0 110.9K +0.82%
MRK Merck 63.31 +5.47 +9.47% 38.7 4.1M +19.86%
MSFT Microsoft 57.97 +0.58 +1.01% 27.6 1.7M +4.49%
NKE Nike 55.86 +1.07 +1.95% 25.8 349.1K -10.62%
PFE Pfizer 35.45 +0.30 +0.87% 29.1 1.4M +9.82%
PG Procter & Gamble 85.65 -0.40 -0.46% 27.0 405.1K +7.87%
TRV Travelers Companies Inc 118.45 +0.57 +0.48% 11.4 49.0K +4.96%
UTX United Technologies 107.62 +1.26 +1.18% 23.9 172.3K +12.03%
UNH UnitedHealth 142.71 0.00 0.00% 23.0 79.7K +21.33%
VZ Verizon 53.52 -0.41 -0.76% 15.1 836.3K +15.79%
V Visa 80.07 +0.59 +0.74% 34.6 292.7K +3.25%
WMT Wal-Mart 73.66 +0.36 +0.49% 16.3 328.2K +20.18%

 

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22 hours ago, racer254 said:

Cheap energy is good for the middle class, don't let these bias stories fool anyone.

 

22 hours ago, Anler said:

Oil jobs. But it has stimulated everything else where people and businesses spent the money they saved on petrol products elsewhere.

Good posts :bc:

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