What a difference a year (or two) makes in New Mexico:
December '07: 3.5% unemployed
December '08: 4.7% unemployed
December '09: 8.3% unemployed
During the last year, 25,900 jobs were lost.
As usual, we are not alone (every state reported a decline in jobs) and the national unemployment rate finished the year in double digits -- an even 10%.
As you would expect, since the Albuquerque/Rio Rancho area is by far the largest in the state, most of the job loss happened here: 14,300. The big losers were manufacturing and construction.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Getting serious about water...
A new ordinance taking effect in the City of Albuquerque will require sellers to install low-flow toilets before completing the sale. The ordinance went into effect on January 6, 2010 and applies to any structure built before 1994 and served by the Bernalillo County Water Authority under the jurisdiction of the city of Albuquerque.
This will obviously cause some hardship for sales -- but I am personally delighted that the city is continuing its focus on water conservation.
This will obviously cause some hardship for sales -- but I am personally delighted that the city is continuing its focus on water conservation.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Bottomed Out?
If anyone can think of a worse decade, please nominate it!
New Mexico Unemployment:
No change from October to November -- we remain at 7.8%.
Job growth was a negative 3.0% which translates into a loss of 25,400 jobs. That is easily the worst loss the state has seen since WWII.
Albuquerque/Rio Rancho Unemployment:
A minor drop from 8.1% in October to 8% in November.
Job growth was a negative 3.5% which translates into a loss of 13,900 jobs. That is a big chunk of the entire state's losses.
For the state and the local economy, the only consistent bright spots have been health services and government increases. Every other sector is in the tank at the moment.
And, with all of that -- we are still better off than more than 50% of the other states. Somehow I find very little satisfaction in that.
May I wish all of you a better year and decade -- one small step at a time as we climb out of this very deep hole.
- We started with the silliness of Y2K
- Moved into the tragedy of 9/11
- Got involved in two (still on-going) wars
- Watched Enron and Tyco and others crash due to mis-management, greed and arrogance
- Got smacked down hard by Wall Street greed and hubris...
New Mexico Unemployment:
No change from October to November -- we remain at 7.8%.
Job growth was a negative 3.0% which translates into a loss of 25,400 jobs. That is easily the worst loss the state has seen since WWII.
Albuquerque/Rio Rancho Unemployment:
A minor drop from 8.1% in October to 8% in November.
Job growth was a negative 3.5% which translates into a loss of 13,900 jobs. That is a big chunk of the entire state's losses.
For the state and the local economy, the only consistent bright spots have been health services and government increases. Every other sector is in the tank at the moment.
And, with all of that -- we are still better off than more than 50% of the other states. Somehow I find very little satisfaction in that.
May I wish all of you a better year and decade -- one small step at a time as we climb out of this very deep hole.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Unemployment a Real Bone in Our Throat
Unemployment continues to rise.
New Mexico's October rate was 7.9% -- up .2% over September. Over-the-year job 'growth' was -3.3% and that translated to a loss of about 27,800 jobs during the year. It is hard to recall that just two short years ago the unemployment rate was 3.5%.
The only areas of growth were health services, government and information (from our still-active movie industry).
Not to be outdone, Albuquerque's rate was even worse at 8.2% -- representing the same.2% increase see by the state as a whole. For the year, job losses totaled 14,800.
Only two areas showed growth in this region: health services and government.
New Mexico's October rate was 7.9% -- up .2% over September. Over-the-year job 'growth' was -3.3% and that translated to a loss of about 27,800 jobs during the year. It is hard to recall that just two short years ago the unemployment rate was 3.5%.
The only areas of growth were health services, government and information (from our still-active movie industry).
Not to be outdone, Albuquerque's rate was even worse at 8.2% -- representing the same.2% increase see by the state as a whole. For the year, job losses totaled 14,800.
Only two areas showed growth in this region: health services and government.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Well, maybe...
Business Week, using data from the Brookings Institution, has decided that Albuquerque is among the 40 cities that have been least effected by the recession. Another one of those 'depends on where you are' articles. One thing they did get right without question: all the noted cities had one thing in common - home prices that never got too high or too low.
But -- looking at the facts 'on the ground' the picture is not particularly cheerful.
New Mexico unemployment was 7.7% in September - up from 4.4% for the same month in '08.
Albuquerque/Rio Rancho unemployment was 8% -- up from 4.6% in September of '08.
That is the first time in my memory that this area has had higher unemployment numbers than the state as a whole.
Most worrisome is that job growth is at a 66-year low for the state with no real sign of a turn around yet. Were it not for increases in the government and health sectors, the numbers would be even worse.
But -- looking at the facts 'on the ground' the picture is not particularly cheerful.
New Mexico unemployment was 7.7% in September - up from 4.4% for the same month in '08.
Albuquerque/Rio Rancho unemployment was 8% -- up from 4.6% in September of '08.
That is the first time in my memory that this area has had higher unemployment numbers than the state as a whole.
Most worrisome is that job growth is at a 66-year low for the state with no real sign of a turn around yet. Were it not for increases in the government and health sectors, the numbers would be even worse.
Monday, October 12, 2009
House Construction
My thanks to Michael Murphy, whose SalesTraq company keeps a close watch on home builders in the Albuquerque/Rio Rancho area. Here is his history of housing starts... not a pretty picture. (The data reflects each year through August):
1995 = 3,221 permits
1996 = 3,268 permits
1997 = 3,232 permits
1998 = 3,438 permits
1999 = 3,594 permits
2000 = 3,281 permits
2001 = 3,964 permits
2002 = 3,918 permits
2003 = 4,549 permits
2004 = 4,892 permits
2005 = 4,706 permits
2006 = 4,088 permits
2007 = 2,933 permits
2008 = 1,596 permits
2009 = 1,061 permits
And, as he points out... we have had the stimulus package in place this year. Ouch!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Moving in Lockstep - Wrong Direction
The good news? New Mexico and Albuquerque/Rio Rancho continue to outperform the nation.
The bad news? That doesn't matter... we are deeply in the hole regardless of what the rest of the country is doing.
U.S. Unemployment Rate: 9.7% in August
New Mexico: 7.5%
Albuquerque/Rio Rancho: 7.4%
Year-To-Year Job Loss
New Mexico: 30,900
Albuquerque/Rio Rancho: 14,500
We have to go back to the mid-40's to find a similar decline in jobs. And, in a state where job growth is traditionally in the 1-2% range, it will take us a long time to get back to a level playing field.
The bad news? That doesn't matter... we are deeply in the hole regardless of what the rest of the country is doing.
U.S. Unemployment Rate: 9.7% in August
New Mexico: 7.5%
Albuquerque/Rio Rancho: 7.4%
Year-To-Year Job Loss
New Mexico: 30,900
Albuquerque/Rio Rancho: 14,500
We have to go back to the mid-40's to find a similar decline in jobs. And, in a state where job growth is traditionally in the 1-2% range, it will take us a long time to get back to a level playing field.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
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.
Also, the US Forest Service will be adding/transferring about 140 additional jobs to Albuquerque in the near future.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Not Much Change In A Lousy Picture
As I have kept saying, we may be doing better than most states but the unhappy fact is that New Mexico and Albuquerque/Rio Rancho are not climbing out of a very deep hole. New Mexico's overall rate of unemployment inched up again while Albuquerque/Rio Rancho's fell slightly. But, both are more than 2.5% higher than this time last year. And, were it not for two sectors (government and health care) the figures would be much worse.
New Mexico unemployment:
New Mexico unemployment:
- 6.8% this June
- 6.5% in May
- 4.1% last June
- 6.8% this June
- 7.0% in May
- 4.1% last June
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