Driven by unprecedented oil and gas production, New Mexico’s economy is doing quite well. That is definitely good news for the State, but at the Rio Grande Foundation we understand that commodity-driven booms don’t last forever. It is sound, pro-growth public policy that ultimately makes a state or nation economically-successful. And New Mexico has never been a pro-growth state.
The Rio Grande Foundation put the chart showing year-over-year job growth together using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Here are a few salient points:
1) The economy is generally good all over and jobs and economic growth continue to move to states in the South and West with whom New Mexico shares a border. So, after years of New Mexico lagging behind, the oil boom happening in the State has propelled overall job growth to…about the same level as our neighbors.
2) While the State as a whole is doing VERY well economically, New Mexico’s four major cities are not leading the charge in terms of job growth. Obviously much of the growth is centered in the oil and gas regions of New Mexico, but considering the money flowing into our State and the overall economy, growth rates outside of Albuquerque are pretty anemic.
Should have read Four of New Mexico’s major cities….not NM’s Four Major Cities as Rio Rancho is larger than Santa Fe or Farmington and is certainly the Shinning Light on the Hill in NM with it’s growth far outpacing the rest of the state.