It's Nasty Out There

When you remove all the very accurate statements about 'everyone else is worse off', you are left with our reality: a steadily mounting percentage of unemployment and a level of negative job growth that has not been seen in 50+ years.

• New Mexico's May unemployment level is 6.5%
• May of 2008 was 4%
• Job growth during the same time frame was a negative 2.4%

The Albuquerque/Rio Rancho area -- normally much better than the rest of the state -- isn't doing any better this time.

• The unemployment rate was 7% this May.
• May of 2008 was the same as the state's rate of 4%
• Job growth(?) also is worse than the state as a whole at a negative 2.9%.

Yuck! Anyone who things we are out of the current recession is smoking a controlled substance.

You Should See the Other Guy...

One more list that shows Albuquerque is terrific shape -- relative to the others.

The Brookings Institution looked at the nation's top 100 metropolitan areas and concluded that we had the 15th strongest economy during the first quarter of the year. Employment, unemployment rates, wages, gross metropolitan product, housing prices and foreclosure rates were all factored into the study.

But, like the vast majority of the cities in the study, we have not begun to turn the corner, just slowed the downward spiral. In fact, only one metro area (McAllen, TX) saw growth in both employment and gross output during the first quarter.

A long way to go....

Some Signs of Life

Three glimmers of light in the midst of this murky economy:

• UNM is starting a $23 million sceince/math building
• General Mills has broken ground on a $100 million expansion
• Solar Array's first phase (at $170 million) of construction is set for the fall

All mean construction jobs, of course, but also new hires at a time of true stagnation.