Albuquerque, NM — Earlier this week, Governor Lujan Grisham enthusiastically touted New Mexico’s unemployment rate dropping to 4.5%, while failing to mention that New Mexico still has the highest unemployment in the country. She also didn’t include the fact that there are currently 20,000 less New Mexicans participating in the state’s workforce compared to pre-Covid levels.
KOAT’s T.J. Wilham spoke with University of New Mexico economist Reilly White
White had this to say about the new unemployment numbers: “One thing to note is that when we calculate the unemployment rate, what it does is, we look at the number of workers who are unemployed, which means they are seeking jobs but don’t have one but are part of the labor force, and it doesn’t include workers who have dropped out of the labor force.”
White went on to say that there are 20,000 less people actually seeking jobs in New Mexico, compared to pre-Covid times.
White continued: “And what that means is, even though the unemployment rate is low, we’re still missing workers from our overall workforce. New Mexico has the third lowest workforce participation rate in the country at about 56.7%. States that’s the amount of workers who could work that are either working or looking for a job. (Continue reading here).”
See the full KOAT segment here.
After the Governor sent out her news release, State Senator Greg Baca (R-Belen) responded by saying, “The real story here is that New Mexico has the highest unemployment rate of any state in the country.”
Original source can be found here.
