The following map illustrates which states have seen strong job growth and which have not. Job growth is strongest in the Mountain Southwest. New Mexico is surrounded by the 1st, 4th, 8th, and 12th-strongest growing states. And, while the plains states are growing slower than most, New Mexico also trailed Oklahoma.
Will the oil boom lead to long-term, sustained job growth in New Mexico? Only time (and public policy decisions made in Santa Fe) will tell.
Of course, at some point the oil boom will end. It relies upon a finite resource. The quicker we pump the oil out, the sooner the boom busts.