What is happening in the New Mexico economy that is positive is happening in the rural counties. The conclusion comes from the detail on the September job figures released last Friday, October 24, by the Department of Workforce Solutions. (Yes, I’m late in passing this along. Oh, well…)
Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Farmington conspired to drop 2,700 wage jobs between September 2013 and September 2014. Las Cruces added 100 jobs during the year, which really doesn’t count.
Statewide there were 6,400 more wage jobs over the year. The rural counties had to add 9,100 jobs to overcome the urban losses and get to the annual addition.
Among the sectors, statewide, education and health services has resumed its status as leading expanding area by number with 4,500 new wage jobs, year over year, for a 3.6% increase. With 128,400 jobs for September, education and health services is the state’s largest employer group with a 31,300 job, or 32%, lead over the declining professional and business services group which dropped another 1,300 jobs September to September.
Finance was the growth leader by percentage increase with 6.9% more jobs and a sector job total of 35,600. Mining and logging, pretty much meaning oil and gas, grew by 6.1% over the year to 27,300 jobs.
Retail added 1,900 jobs to total 93,100, no mystery given that all the new jobs were in rural counties. Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces lost 600 retail jobs for the year.
Manufacturing was the leading loser sector for the year, down 2,300 jobs with 900 of the losses, or 39%, coming in Albuquerque which has 60% of the state’s manufacturing jobs.
Government lost 1,800 jobs over the year with 1,400 job losses in local government. Local government in metro Albuquerque dropped 200 jobs with no change in Santa Fe and Las Cruces. That means that the rural counties plus Farmington lost 1,200 local government jobs.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
September Jobs Report: Fewer Seeking Work, More Working
Fewer people were looking for work in New Mexico during September as compared to September 2013, but more were working which meant the unemployment rate went down. That lower rate—6.6% down from 7.2% in September 2013—got the first attention in this morning’s news release from the Department of Workforce Solutions.
DWS attention then moved to the year-over-year increase of 6,400 wage jobs, or 0.8%.
Compared to other states, New Mexico’s September job performance, neither year-over-year nor between August and September, did not stand out, meaning the changes were not statistically significant.
On a seasonally unadjusted basis, New Mexico’s labor force went from 924,400 in September 2013 to 918,700 in September 2014. That drop of 5,700 was a 0.62% decline.
Our neighbors did better. Colorado, with less than three times the number of New Mexico’s wage jobs, added more than ten times the number of jobs, year over year (a seasonally adjusted 67,400 as compared to 6,400). Arizona, home to 2.6 million wage jobs in September or 112,700 jobs, “only” added 51,600 jobs for the year or just eight times the New Mexico total.
Selected positive sector performance, courtesy of DWS, is education and health services (+4,500); finance (+2,300); retail (+1,900); mining (+1,600); information (+800). Selected sectors losing jobs are manufacturing (-2,300); government (-1,800); professional and business services (-1,300).
The retail performance adds to the mystery of the state economy. Expanding retail suggests that people have more money to spend and that suggests increased employment. It will be interesting next week when the metro numbers are released to see the source of the retail improvement. Metro or rural?
DWS attention then moved to the year-over-year increase of 6,400 wage jobs, or 0.8%.
Compared to other states, New Mexico’s September job performance, neither year-over-year nor between August and September, did not stand out, meaning the changes were not statistically significant.
On a seasonally unadjusted basis, New Mexico’s labor force went from 924,400 in September 2013 to 918,700 in September 2014. That drop of 5,700 was a 0.62% decline.
Our neighbors did better. Colorado, with less than three times the number of New Mexico’s wage jobs, added more than ten times the number of jobs, year over year (a seasonally adjusted 67,400 as compared to 6,400). Arizona, home to 2.6 million wage jobs in September or 112,700 jobs, “only” added 51,600 jobs for the year or just eight times the New Mexico total.
Selected positive sector performance, courtesy of DWS, is education and health services (+4,500); finance (+2,300); retail (+1,900); mining (+1,600); information (+800). Selected sectors losing jobs are manufacturing (-2,300); government (-1,800); professional and business services (-1,300).
The retail performance adds to the mystery of the state economy. Expanding retail suggests that people have more money to spend and that suggests increased employment. It will be interesting next week when the metro numbers are released to see the source of the retail improvement. Metro or rural?
Friday, October 10, 2014
Pending Sales Increase for First Time in a Year
During September, pending sales of single family detached homes in metro Albuquerque increased 10.9% from September 2013. There real news here is that this is first year-over-year increase since September 2013.
September pending sales of 854 homes did drop by three from August, but this can be attributed to the seasonal slowing as school has started and we head into cooler months.
Townhouse and condo pending sales showed a nice 30-unit or 58% jump from September 2013, the second year-over-year increase of 2014.
Closed sales during September maybe didn’t quite go off a cliff, but the 703 sales were 14%, or 119 homes fewer than the 822 homes sold during August. The 2014 peak for closed sales came in July with 823 homes sold. Pending sales peaked in May at 996.
Prices, both median and average dropped both from August 2013 and from July.
The average sales price, $208,936 during September, was the lowest since March. The average price was $7,212 lower, or 3%, than August and down 1.6% from September 2013. The median price was $175,000, a level last seen in April.
The price peak for 2014 came in July for both median and average prices.
The homes that sold during September were on the market an average of 65 days, the same as August and two days more than September 2013.
During September, 82% of August’s 857 pending sales turning into closed sales. For August, 83% of July’s 986 pending sales became closed.
September pending sales of 854 homes did drop by three from August, but this can be attributed to the seasonal slowing as school has started and we head into cooler months.
Townhouse and condo pending sales showed a nice 30-unit or 58% jump from September 2013, the second year-over-year increase of 2014.
Closed sales during September maybe didn’t quite go off a cliff, but the 703 sales were 14%, or 119 homes fewer than the 822 homes sold during August. The 2014 peak for closed sales came in July with 823 homes sold. Pending sales peaked in May at 996.
Prices, both median and average dropped both from August 2013 and from July.
The average sales price, $208,936 during September, was the lowest since March. The average price was $7,212 lower, or 3%, than August and down 1.6% from September 2013. The median price was $175,000, a level last seen in April.
The price peak for 2014 came in July for both median and average prices.
The homes that sold during September were on the market an average of 65 days, the same as August and two days more than September 2013.
During September, 82% of August’s 857 pending sales turning into closed sales. For August, 83% of July’s 986 pending sales became closed.
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