Jobs: March, the Rest of the Story

The 1.9% March 2008 to March 2009 job loss is New Mexico's worst year-over-year performance since 1954, reports the Department of Workforce Services.
DWS says, "Only two of the state’s 13 industries posted any job growth since last year, while the eleven others reported employment declines. Most of the gains came from the health care component of the educational & health services industry, which was up 4,400 jobs on the year. Government jobs also continued to grow, increasing by 2,000. Most of the new government jobs are at the local level, many at tribally owned casinos."
Wow, the growth is in healthcare, tribal casinos, which are part of local government, and other government.
Albuquerque: Over the past year, payroll employment dropped 2%, or 7,700 jobs. Metro Albuquerque has lost jobs for six consecutive months, losing jobs at a slightly faster rate than the state. Only three of the 12 major industry divisions have added jobs since last March.
Over the year, Santa Fe lost 1,100 jobs, a 1.7% drop.
With no job growth, but no loss either, Las Cruces had the best job performance of the states three larger metros. Monthly figures are not reported for Farmington, our smallest metro area.