NM Economy No Longer the Worst; Rural Counties Gain

The Department of Workforce Solutions didn’t quite let the work week end before sending out the detailed August job figures in the Labor Market Review newsletter. But DWS was close. The email came out at 4:51 P.M.
No wonder. Much exists to avoid. Three of the four metro areas lost wage jobs in the year August 2013 to August 2014. Las Cruces showed no change with Albuquerque down 600, Santa Fe down 900, and Farmington dropping 1,000 jobs or 2.1%. The metro job loss total was 2,500.
The state gained 4,600 jobs, year over year, 0.6% increase. That means the rural counties gained 7,100 jobs.
This stellar mediocrity bumped the state into a tied for 40th in job production among the states. Toot the horns; no longer the worst. Nebraska, New Hampshire and Ohio tied our job creation standard.
Among the sectors statewide, the critical manufacturing sector continued to disappear, down month-leading 3,000 jobs to 26,900. Professional and business services dropped 2,400 jobs with government down 800. The losses concentrated among the feds, down 1,000.
Education and health services added 6,100 jobs (shades of five years ago, DWS noted) with another 2,200 in finance. Mining, meaning mostly oil and gas, added 1,400 jobs.
To get to the loss of 600 jobs, Albuquerque got rid of 1,400 jobs in professional and business services and 1,000 in manufacturing.
Just noticed the DWS is called the regions “Workforce Investment Areas.” Bleah.

Wage Jobs Increase, Labor Force Decreases

The headline item will be that New Mexico led the nation in percentage terms in adding wage jobs between July and August. The 0.6%, or 4,600 job, increase was on a seasonally adjusted basis. Wage jobs increased in 35 states, said the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which released the monthly jobs report today. Over the year from August 2013 to August 2014, again for wage jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis, the increase was even better—a 5,500 job increase to 817,300 wage jobs.
Take away the seasonal adjustment and the wage job report remains decent, at least for New Mexico. Over the August to August year, jobs increased 4,600, or 0.6%, to 814,800. The monthly increase was 7,700 jobs or almost (gasp!) one percent.
The happy news ends.
Go to “employment,” the other measure of the number of people working or looking for work, and the story is different.
All four of the numbers for employment showed declines in August. That is to say, employment in August was lower, or a seasonally adjusted basis, than in July 2014 (-1,500) and in August 2013 (-2,700). The figures also were lower without the seasonal adjustment.
Continuing erosion of the labor force appears to explain much of the change. Fewer people appear to be working or looking for work, which is the definition of the labor force.

Home Sales Drift Down

During August the metro Albuquerque real estate market continued drifting gently down as compared to 2013. The Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors released the August sales report yesterday.
Closed sales of single family detached homes, 822 during August, were down both from July and from August 2013. Sales were down only one unit from the 823 closed sales during July, but the performance broke a seven month string of month over month sales increases. Sales were down 35, or 4.1%, from August 2013, continuing the year-over-year sales declines that have characterized 2014.
The 857 sales pending during August represented a double decline. Pending sales were down 29 August 2013 and 129, or 13.1%, from July, indicated a further drop in closed sales for September.
The average price for homes closed during August was $216,148, incorporating the contribution toward raising the average from three homes sold in the $1 million and over group. The average price was down from both July and from August 2013.
The median price was $184,100 for August. The figure was down from July but up $1,600 from August 2013. The price group from $200,000 to $249,000 was the most popular during August with 134 homes sold. However, at $49,000, that group is wider than other price categories. If combined, the two next lower price groups accounted for 143 sales during the month. The two groups are from $160,000 to $179,000 and from $180,000 to $199,000. These two cover a $39,000 spread.
Home sales took an average of 65 days to close during August. That was five days longer than during July 2014 and August 2014.

Gary King Incredibly Disappointing

I have always thought of Gary King as a decent guy, not someone I would for barring the Republican being an idiot, but decent. That’s over. I have also felt that King’s long quest to be elected governor and follow his dad, Gov. Bruce, was a little strange.
This morning’s Albuquerque Journal brings news that King is deeply into parochialism that is one of New Mexico’s big problems.
That’s my take on King’s remark at a Belen Fundraiser that Gov. Susana Martinez “does not have a Latino heart.” The remark is in a brief video published yesterday on the web site of the conservative magazine, “The Weekly Standard.”
Find the video at: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/nm-dem-says-gop-guv-martinez-does-not-have-latino-heart_804671.html.
Just one of King's many missed points is that Martinez represents the majority of New Mexico Hispanics. She is a generation or two out of Mexico. The people who have been in the state and proudly proclaim that accident makes them better people, they are the minority. This is as of the 2000 census.

Minnesota Road Sign

The sign said, “Concentrate on Driving.” It was on U.S. 52 distracting drivers heading southeast from Minneapolis to Rochester.
In the same vein, our rental Camry had a disclaimer on the dashboard screen warning drivers that looking at the screen could be dangerous.