I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
New Mexico had one of the worst job loss rates in the nation for June, according to a new report by the New Mexico Voices for Children‘s Fiscal Policy Project.
“It used to be that New Mexico was not as deeply affected as the rest of the nation during a recession, but that’s not the case this time,” Fiscal Policy Project director Gerry Bradley said. “The run-up to this recession — the housing boom and high energy prices — had a significant impact on the state’s economy. Employment was up, revenue was up, and so was spending. But we ended up paying for the good times when those two economic drivers crashed.”
The state’s 8.2 percent unemployment rate continues to trail the national average of 9.5 percent, thanks to infusions of federal money — but New Mexico’s economy won’t improve until the national economy improves, the report says.
The largest employment rate declines in the U.S. occurred in Nevada, with New Mexico tying with Mississippi, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website. Nevada’s employment rate dropped by 1.8 percent between July 2009 and July 2010, according to the BLS; New Mexico and Mississippi saw declines of 1.3 percent.
New Mexico’s average personal income grew modestly during the recession, due almost entirely to increased federal spending on Social Security, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, and stimulus payments, the report states.
