Driven by oil boom, NM job growth continues to strengthen, but still lags region badly

According to KOB Channel 4 job growth in New Mexico exceeded the national average for the first time since 2013. That growth was driven by particularly strong growth in the “mining and construction” category.

But, over the past year (from April 2018 to April 2019) the picture isn’t so pretty once you narrow the job numbers down to the four largest cities in New Mexico and compare them to our neighbors as a whole. See the chart below which is the four New Mexico cities tracked by Bureau of Labor Statistics compared to the city averages from BLS for New  Mexico’s  neighbors.

The difference is quite stark and tracks with similar data the Foundation posted on this site back in February. Beating the national average is great, but New Mexico is not the average state. It is in the fastest-growing region in the nation and has experienced one of the greatest oil booms in memory. It is also surrounded by some of the most economically free states in the nation.