Data illustrate the makeup of New Mexico’s economy: and our reliance on government

The following chart appeared in the Albuquerque Journal on Monday. It largely tracks with what we already know: Our state is incredibly reliant on the oil and gas (and to an extent other extractive) industries. Second, that government plays a major role in our economy, and that we are not much of a manufacturing or “headquarters” state.

I managed to track down the source of the report here. It’s an interesting read. Noteworthy is the fact that the numbers in the chart above represent national averages and that due to the smaller overall size of the energy and mining sector in most states, New Mexico’s mining/logging sector is much larger than the national average. Conversely, despite government being a far greater percentage of the economy in each state, our government sector is an astonishing 46% greater in terms of employment than the national average.