Quick Reads

NM near bottom of wage growth over last year, since Great Recession

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New Mexico’s personal wage growth continues to lag behind the country as a whole and the region. The latest numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, compiled by the Pew Charitable Trusts, shows that through the 2nd quarter of 2018, New Mexico’s personal income has grown just 1.1 percent since the Great Recession. That’s compared the national average of 1.9 percent. Looking at just the most recent year, through the end of the 2nd quarter of 2018, New Mexico also saw just a 1.1 percent growth. The West is home to many  states with the largest growth rates, both since 2007 and in the most recent year.

Quick Reads

Study: Visitors to NM’s outdoors generate an economic windfall

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The recreational opportunities for hunting, angling and wildlife-watching on Bureau of Land Management lands in New Mexico are matched only by their economic benefits, according to a new study. The research to determine spending on wildlife-related recreation tells the New Mexico story – millions in salaries and wages, products and services sold, and state, local and federal tax revenues. Todd Leahy, acting educational director with the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, says wildlife-related activities are an equal or greater economic driver than many other industries. “This is huge,” says Leahy. “I would venture that sportsmen don’t even know these numbers – $24 million in wages?

John Arthur Smith

New Mexico’s reserves among lowest in the nation

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New Mexico’s savings keeps dropping —and now the state has one of the smallest cushions of any state in the nation. Even now, those reserves are still well below pre-recession levels. If no new money were coming in and the state government could rely only on those reserves, there would only be enough cash to run the state for 8.4 days. That’s according to The Pew Charitable Trusts and its analysis of states’ fiscal health. In Fiscal Year 2016, the amount of money New Mexico held back and put into savings—to pay for unexpected expenses or shore up the budget when revenues dip—was at its lowest level since 2000, according to Pew.

Quick Reads

NM’s revenue still hasn’t recovered from pre-recession high

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No one following the legislative session and debate over the state budget will be surprised that New Mexico still isn’t back to peak, pre-recession levels on tax revenue. New Mexico is one of 13 states that still haven’t reached the pre-recession levels of tax revenue collection. The findings come from ongoing reports by the Pew Charitable Trusts of the most recently-available tax revenue data from states. All numbers are adjusted for inflation. New Mexico is one of 32 states that didn’t collect as much tax revenue in the most recently-available data since the recession.

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Study: State revenue forecasting errors growing nationwide

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New Mexico Political Report recently wrote about New Mexico’s trouble with accurately predicting future state revenues. The problem, it turns out, is a common one among many states and the projections are only becoming more complex each year. In the past 25 years, states revenue projections have become less and less accurate, according to a report released in March by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. This is largely because state revenue sources are becoming increasingly volatile. Chief among them is the corporate tax, a point that New Mexico Political Report highlighted last week.

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NM lags on job creation since depth of recession

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While recent news has shown New Mexico is adding jobs, a report from Stateline at the Pew Charitable Trusts shows that New Mexico is still far from average when it comes to filling the hole dug by the recession. The report shows that since the worst employment numbers during the recession, New Mexico is among the states with the least amount of jobs recovery. The report cites federal data. Ten states (Alabama, Arkansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and West Virginia) have seen total employment grow 5 percent or less compared to their lowest points, according to the analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. On average, employment has increased 8 percent among all 50 states and the District of Columbia since each one’s individual nadir.While the average is eight percent, New Mexico’s recovery lags behind at just 3.77 percent since September of 2010.