Although the price of oil is still down dramatically from a year ago, when it was over $100 last May, the huge rebound since the $44 lows technically means oil is in a bull market again.
This week the U.S. oil climbed above the $60 a barrel mark for the first time since December. This is especially good news for the people employed in the oil industry.
Companies in the U.S. cut about 52,000 jobs since the oil decline began in May, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas estimated in early April.
Firms like Schlumberger (SLB), Halliburton (HAL) and Baker Hughes (BHI) dramatically shrunk their headcount and cut expenses in response to lower oil prices.
"The worst is passed. That consolidation is just about done," Joe
Brusuelas, chief economist at consulting firm McGladrey, said in an interview with CNNMoney."We're not going to move back to $40 anytime soon," he said.
While cheap gas has been a net positive for the overall American economy, it's led to difficult times in energy hubs like Houston, Oklahoma City and North Dakota, Brusuelas said.
During March, nonfarm payrolls dropped by more than 25,000 in Texas, the sharpest decline since the Great Recession. Brusuelas believes, however, that the layoffs in the oil industry will be restrained because oil prices have bounced back and - at least so far - haven't returned to the 2015 lows.
T. Boone Pickens echoed last week this confidence that the worst is already over. The oil billionaire assured that employees in Texas shouldn't panic because oil prices will end the year
around $70 a barrel and could hit $90 to $100 in 12-to-18 months.
Brusuelas meanwhile noted that "that industry is on stronger footing now," which marks a big contrast with Europe, where it's much harder for companies to conduct mass layoffs due to tighter labor laws.
"If this was in Europe, the energy business would be a mess," Brusuelas said.
