Not Quite the Worst Economy, But Close

The lead item from the Labor Market Review, the Department of Workforce Solutions newsletter that hit my email inbox at 4:21 PM the afternoon of June 27, is, "New Mexico’s rate of over-the-year job growth, comparing May 2014 with May 2013, was negative 0.1 percent, representing a loss of 600 jobs."
My initial understanding of the May numbers was that we were still the worst economy in the nation. Not quite the case, apparently. Our job loss percentage ties Washington, D.C., but Vermont beats us with a loss percentage of 0.2%. New Mexico’s comparative job performance continues to be buried without comment in the table on page 16 of the Labor Market Review.
Three of our four metro areas lost 4,000 jobs over the year: Albuquerque, -2,800; Las Cruces, -100; Farmington, -1,200. Only the Santa Fe metro gained jobs, a whopping 200, or 0.3%.
Government, down 2,500 jobs statewide, led the sector losers. Only 700 of those job losses were in the metro areas.
Thus the job gains were in the rural counties and in the private sector, enough to overcome the loss of 1,800 government jobs.
Growing sectors, May 2013 to May 2014.
Mining, retail, finance (?), education and health services, leisure and hospitality.
Loser sectors:
Manufacturing, construction, information, professional and business services, government.
National retailers new to New Mexico (Dick's Sporting Goods, Total Wine) must see growth. But where?