Earlier this year, Errors of Enchantment inaugurated a system to benchmark job growth in New Mexico. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics conducts a regular analysis of 12-month employment growth in the nation’s metropolitan statistical areas. Our analysis explores New Mexico’s four MSAs, compared to the 49 MSAs found in the state’s five neighbors: Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas.
As depicted in the chart above, Albuquerque did something rare for New Mexico’s MSAs: It performed at the regional average of 2.0 percent growth. Las Cruces lagged behind (0.7 percent), Santa Fe fared worse (0.5 percent), and Farmington declined by 0.6 percent.
Once again, Utah’s MSAs — St. George (5.1 percent), Provo-Orem (4.4 percent), Ogden-Clearfield (4.0 percent), Salt Lake City (3.2 percent), and Logan (2.3 percent) — each outperformed the regional average. When will a single New Mexico MSA do the same? Time will tell….
Deduct government payroll data also, and watch NM figures drop even more.
Or prove my presumptions wrong?