Allyssa Garcia

A single mom in Albuquerque faces homelessness without rent relief

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Albuquerque single mom Allyssa Garcia said she faces homelessness if the state doesn’t create a rent relief fund program to help residents like her during the pandemic. Garcia is not alone, said Lindsay Cutler, attorney for the nonprofit the New Mexico Center for Law and Poverty. Related: Legislators push to get bill heard on rent relief, thousands will be affected 

Garcia works as a home health aid and with three young children, ages 7, 10 and 14, she struggled before the pandemic began. Her rent is $725 a month, utilities included. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average home health worker earns $24,940 a year.

Quick Reads

NM unemployment remains second-highest in nation

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New Mexico’s unemployment rate continues to fall, but is still second-worst in the nation. The latest numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that New Mexico’s unemployment rate in December 2017 fell to 6 percent, down from 6.7 percent in December 2016. The state now has the same rate as the District of Columbia. Nationwide, the unemployment rate is at 4.1 percent. Hawaii has the lowest unemployment rate—2 percent—and Alaska has the highest, 7.3 percent.

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Make it three in a row: NM has highest unemployment rate again

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For the third consecutive month, New Mexico has the highest unemployment rate in the nation. And once again, New Mexico is one of just two states with an unemployment rate over 6 percent. The April numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday showed the state’s unemployment rate of 6.7 percent remains far above the national unemployment rate of 4.4 percent and nearly three-times the unemployment rate of Colorado, at 2.3 percent. Colorado has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation and is one of three states to reach its lowest unemployment rate since the BLS’ state series began in 1976. This is also the third consecutive month that New Mexico’s unemployment rate stands at 6.7 percent.

unemployment

NM unemployment rate continues to lead nation

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The unemployment rate in New Mexico remains the highest in the nation, with no change from the last time numbers were released. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Friday that New Mexico’s nonfarm, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in March was 6.7 percent for the second consecutive month. Meanwhile the nationwide unemployment rate dropped from 4.7 percent in February to 4.5 percent in April, with 17 states seeing lower rates and 33 states, including New Mexico, with stable rates. New Mexico’s neighbor to the north, Colorado, had the lowest employment rate in the nation March—just 2.6 percent. Utah had an unemployment rate of 3.1 percent and Arizona and Texas each had rates of 5 percent.

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NM’s unemployment rate highest in the nation

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New Mexico’s unemployment rate is the highest in the nation, according to the latest numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to the state employment numbers for January released Monday morning, New Mexico’s unemployment rate is now 6.7 percent, above Alaska (6.5 percent) and Alabama (6.4 percent). The overall unemployment rate across the United States is 4.8 percent. Related: New Mexico ‘worst-run’ state in the nation. Again.

unemployment

New Mexico’s unemployment rate the second-highest in the nation

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The rate of unemployed New Mexicans is the second-highest in the nation after increasing in August. That’s according to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the federal agency which released its latest state-by-state preliminary employment figures Tuesday. New Mexico’s unemployment was 6.6 percent in August, still much higher than the 4.9 percent rate in the United States overall. The lowest unemployment rate is in South Dakota, which has a 2.9 percent unemployment rate. The only state with a higher unemployment rate than New Mexico is Alaska, which has a 6.8 percent unemployment rate.

Quick Reads

NM’s unemployment rate third-highest in the nation

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New Mexico’s unemployment rate now in July hit 6.4 percent, the third-highest in the country. Those numbers come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, released Friday. The unemployment rate in New Mexico stood at 6.2 percent from March until June. The national unemployment rate stood at 4.9 percent. This is a drop from a year ago, when New Mexico’s July unemployment rate was 6.6 percent.

unemployment rate

NM unemployment rate tops nation—again

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New Mexico once again has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 6.7 percent. The numbers from December by the Bureau of Labor Statistics represent the second straight month that New Mexico leads the country in unemployment rate. New Mexico was the only state with a statistically significant year-over-year increase in unemployment, at 0.7 percent from to 6 percent unemployment rate in December of 2014. Meanwhile, 24 states had statistically significant decreases in that same time period. New Mexico is one of six states, plus the District of Columbia, with an unemployment rate in excess of six percent.

violent crime

Report: NM fourth-most dangerous state in the U.S.

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New Mexico is once again the fourth-most dangerous state in the country, at least according to the latest yearly survey of violent crime by 24/7 Wall Street. The annual survey from the financial news website is based mainly from violent crime rates from the FBI 2014 Uniform Crime Report, which is the most comprehensive look at crime in the nation. It will be sure to fuel the effort from New Mexico Republican legislative leadership and Gov. Susana Martinez to pass “tough on crime” bills this upcoming legislative session. Republicans this session are supporting a tougher state “three strikes” law against violent repeat offenders, adding law enforcement officers as a protected class in the state’s Human Rights Act and increasing their pay. “The data clearly shows that violent crime in New Mexico is too high, and we need to do something about it,” State Rep. Larry Larrañaga, R-Albuquerque, said in a prepared statement from House Republicans.

News

NM has highest unemployment rate in the nation

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New Mexico has the highest unemployment rate of any state in the nation according to the latest federal numbers. New Mexico is still seeing job growth, but it isn’t enough to match the demand from those out of work according to November numbers for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Between October and November, New Mexico added 3,900 jobs. The numbers were released this week and showed that New Mexico has an unemployment rate of 6.8 percent. The national average is 5.0 percent.