The global Coronavirus outbreak has pinned in manufacturers, paused supply chains and ground many industries to a halt. As a result, oil prices have plummeted to lows not seen since after the September 11th attacks on America, dragging shares of market leaders down with them. 

American oil & gas companies have been hard hit, losing half their value in the last year, and much of those losses coming in 2020. It's also showing up in their job postings. 

Exxon Mobil ($XOM) shares were pounded for 59% over the last 12 months, and over the same timeframe, job postings are down 38% - with much of the recent declines being posted in the last 3 months. 

California-based oil and gas company Chevron ($CVX) has seen job postings decline 25% over the last 12 months. Similar to Exxon Mobil, its shares are down 54% year-over-year.

UK-based Royal Dutch Shell ($RDS) is experiencing the toughest stock drop of the four - shares are down 63% over the last 12 months. Year-over-year, job postings are down just 6%, as EU and British companies in the space have not yet begun to make cuts to job postings (nor, is it clear that they will). 

Total ($TOT), the French multinational corp., is an outlier - although it remains to be seen how long this will stand. It's increased job postings in 2020, and year-over-year (17%) - but shares are still down 52%.

The market was treated to a bit of a silver lining, as both oil companies and commodity prices began to enjoy a bit of a bounceback - but whether or not it is sustained, and whether the recent gains can even keep industry leaders from mass layoffs and reductions of job postings - remains to be seen. 

About the Data:

Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales. 

Further Reading: 

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