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.
News the New Mexico Tourism Department laid off seven New Mexico Magazine employees Tuesday highlights the state as one of the many in the nation with a relatively fertile employment picture despite a decline in government jobs.
This past week, The Brookings Institution in its MetroMonitor report noted (PDF) Albuquerque as one of the top 20 metropolitan areas in economic performance, sharing the spotlight with Buffalo, Houston, Portland, Boston, San Jose and New Orleans, among others.
The report was compiled using metrics such as housing prices, average earnings, the unemployment rate, local gross domestic product and types of jobs available.
The job cuts in the Tourism Department weren’t limited to the legendary magazine, the first state-printed magazine in the country with a long history of publishing articles and photographs of prominent state-born figures; 27 workers were cut by the State Personnel Board, 11 of which were in tourism. Another 16 full-time positions were removed from payroll at Expo New Mexico, which puts on the State Fair and operates fairgrounds.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, New Mexico’s unemployment rate is 6.6 percent; government positions have been on the decline for most of the past year, with preliminary August figures showing the number of positions matches 2003 levels. Manufacturing in the state has gained modestly in the past year, while education, health services, the financial sector, trade and utilities have led in job growth.
Santa Fe, despite being home to many government positions, has an unemployment rate below the state average at 5.7 percent according to July figures — the most recent the BLS has on file on the local level. Albuquerque, possessing most of the government jobs in the state has a July unemployment rate of 7.7 percent.
Beyond New Mexico, the authors wrote federal, local and state government jobs dropped off in 69 of the largest 100 metropolitan areas.
Below is a general synopsis from the report of the economic activity on the metropolitan level nationwide:
Unemployment rates, although lower than at the beginning of 2010 in most large metropolitan areas, remained very high. House prices hit new lows in all large metropolitan areas even as the pace of foreclosures slowed in half of those areas. Workers’ earnings, available at the metropolitan level through the first quarter of 2011, fell in slightly more than half of the nation’s large metropolitan areas since the beginning of the recession. Manufacturing employment continued to rise through the second quarter of the year in most large metropolitan areas. Government employment continued to fall in most.
