New Mexico sees second worst job losses over last year

(The Center Square) – New Mexico retained its ranking as one of the states with the biggest year- over-year increases in unemployment claims, second only to Kansas.

The report by WalletHub, a financial company that tracks the nation’s economy, puts New Mexico’s change in unemployment claims the first week of January versus 2019 at 782.51 percent. The report says 14,685 New Mexicans filed for unemployment the week of Jan. 4, 2021, compared with 1,664 the week of Jan. 7, 2019.

Kansas topped all states. The top 10 were Kansas, New Mexico, Florida, Louisiana, Illinois, Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Colorado and Arizona.

The slow rollout of vaccines and failure by many states to vaccinate residents in a timely fashion is making things worse, said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst.

“Since vaccine rollout is slower than expected, that could slow the reduction in the unemployment rate this year,” Gonzalez said. “Without having most of the population vaccinated, we can’t achieve a full recovery, which means businesses will continue to not be able to hire in full force.

“If we can put more resources into achieving widespread vaccination, we can expect to make bigger strides in reducing unemployment. We should be concerned with educating people on the benefits of getting vaccinated, too, so that a higher percentage of the population will choose to receive the vaccine.”

In a newsconference Thursday, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and top state health officials said the state has administered more than 100,000 vaccines. Overall, the state has received 153,475 vaccines, officials said.

Officials attribute the vaccination numbers to an online portal for sign-ups that so far has more than 500,000 applicants.

The economy and the pandemic are two of the top Legislative priorities set by the state’s House of Representatives.

The state is looking at providing more relief for hard-hit industries such as restaurants and tourism. Education is also getting a lot of attention.

New Mexico’s unemployment rate was 7.5 percent in November 2020, which is down from the 8.1 percent rate in October, but way up from 4.8 percent the previous year, according to the New Mexico Department of Workface Solutions.

The national unemployment rate in November was 6.7 percent.

The biggest industry losers were leisure and hospitality, which experienced a drop of 19,400 jobs, or 20.2 percent compared to the previous year.

But, the report adds, all major industry sectors in the state were hit with the loss of jobs.

New Mexico is not alone. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, leisure and hospitality from November to December lost 498,000 jobs.

At a time when the health industry is at its highest need, health care and social assistance was down some 3,500 jobs, or 2.9 percent. Educational services was down 3,000 jobs, or 13.4 percent.

Meantime, the state’s Economic Recovery Council, established by Lujan Grisham to help combat the economic damage caused by the pandemic and her government-imposed restrictions, issued a report urging the state to expand broadband internet service, a significant need in the state’s rural areas, add $100 million in funding to the state’s Job Training Incentive Program and expand the program’s eligibility to include hospitality and leisure businesses.

The report includes an economic damage assessment pointing out that the state has lost about 65,500 jobs during the pandemic as of November with leisure and hospitality the hardest hit. It also supports the governor’s request for $25 million to promote tourism.

Next week, state lawmakers will begin a 60-day session.

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