New Mexico, the Region’s Growth Laggard — Again

Last week the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis released another depressing finding for the Land of Enchantment. In 2014, growth in real gross state product lagged behind the performance of every one of our neighbors:

New Mexico’s 1.0 percent was less than half the rate for the nation as a whole.

It gets worse. In a new analysis, demographer Joel Kotkin puts Albuquerque at #86 of 93 medium-sized cities for “employment growth over the short-, medium- and long-term, going back to 2003,” as well as “momentum — whether growth is slowing or accelerating.” Of 258 small-sized cities, Farmington lands at a respectable #44, but Las Cruces (#184) and Santa Fe (#207) underperform.

Isn’t it time for an effective economic-development strategy for New Mexico?