While the Albuquerque metro area has been by no means unaffected by the recession, the area is actually doing better than most other cities around the nation according to a report by the Brookings Institution.

“This is not one national recession. It’s felt barely at all in some parts of the country, and it’s felt deeply and significantly in others,” the Brookings Institution’s Alan Berube, co-author of the report, told the Huffington Post.

The Albuquerque metro area ranks 15th among the “strongest performing metro areas.” The rankings were based on six “key indicators:” employment, unemployment rates, wages, gross metropolitan product, housing prices, and foreclosure rates.

The Brooking Institution’s Metro Monitor says that our region in general is less hard hit than other regions.

“Parts of the Southwest and Deep South — including metro areas in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana — have performed relatively well, experiencing less severe job losses, relatively large wage gains, and modest home price increases,” the Metro Monitor portion of the Brookings Institution Web site says.

It says that “specializations in energy and government” are one reason why the regions mentioned were not as hard hit — Albuquerque is home of Sandia National Labs and Kirtland Air Force Base.

To see all of the numbers on the Albuquerque metro area, go here (pdf).