Forbes Dings New Mexico Business Climate

New Mexico’s business climate received negative reviews from Forbes Magazine in the publication’s latest ranking of business climate. According to the magazine, New Mexico came in a disappointing 47th. According to the report, “New Mexico ranks in the bottom six overall for a third straight year largely due to a weak labor supply and lousy current economic climate. New Mexico has the worst employment growth in the U.S. over the past five years. The state also fares poorly on quality of life metrics, a product of comparatively low school test scores and high crime.”

Among the metrics studied, New Mexico performed “best” in “business costs” at 27th (likely due to low wages). Unfortunately, low scores for 45th “labor supply” (likely the lack of a skilled workforce), 49th in economic climate (just the poor overall condition of the economy), and 43rd in “quality of life” which the magazine notes above.

Perhaps even worse for New Mexico is the fact that neighboring Utah, Colorado, and Texas all place in the top 10 making New Mexico even less attractive compared to its neighbors. Eight of the top 10 states in the ranking are “right to work” while 8 of the top bottom 10 (including New Mexico) are “forced-unionism” or non-right to work states. You can find the full listing in order here.

It is not a surprise, given each states’ relatively poor rankings from Forbes that New Mexico and West Virginia have the highest unemployment rates in the nation among US states.