The upsides -- and downsides -- of falling oil prices

NEW YORK -- Oil closed at just over $31 a barrel Thursday. Since June of 2014, the price has fallen about $75 -- taking the price of gasoline along for the ride.

How have falling oil prices reverberated through the U.S. economy?

"Consumers reap a great benefit from low oil. Last year, the average household saved $660 at the gas pump, like an unexpected tax refund," CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger told "CBS Evening News" anchor Scott Pelley.

"And cheap gas prices along with low interest rates and an improving job market helped boost auto sales. Last year, automakers sold a record 17.5 million cars and light trucks," she added.

But there is a down side.

After a big boom from 2010 to 2014, there is pain in the energy sector. The mining industry, which includes oil, gas and coal, lost 129,000 jobs last year.

And that's just the direct hit -- industries that serve miners, like a waitress working in the restaurant near a fracking site, may have been laid off, or a convenience store worker near an oil well had to be let go.

But the ripple effects go deeper. RealtyTrac released its final foreclosure numbers for 2015 on Thursday. While activity is down nationally, it is up in places like Texas, North Dakota and Oklahoma -- states that rely at least in part on the energy industry.

So cheap oil might help our wallets, but when it comes to the overall economy, it can really shake things up.