July Unemployment

Unfortunately no surprises -- not much change.

The percentages continue to look better than most of the country and continue to be lousy on an absolute basis. Both New Mexico as a whole and the Albuquerque/Rio Rancho data paint a picture of a work force that has a long way to go to return to normalcy.

New Mexico
2009 July unemployment was 7% -- up from 6.8% in June
2008 July unemployment was 4.2%

Albuquerque/Rio Rancho
2009 July unemployment was 6.8% -- the same as in June
2008 July unemployment was the same as the state as a whole: 4.2%

In both cases, the only sectors performing well are Education/Health Care and Government. All others are in negative territory. And that, of course, means none of the 'building blocks' for a sustained rebound are in place.

Some Good News

Eclipse... the light jet company that went into bankruptcy earlier this year will be starting up again. Much smaller, but still plan on hiring back about 200 people by the end of the month.

Also, the US Forest Service will be adding/transferring about 140 additional jobs to Albuquerque in the near future.