Electronic, computer firms help fuel growth in Albuquerque. See A10.
Fourth in a seriesBill Chapman measures the New Mexico economy in square footage, walls and the demand for carpenters. The Santa Fe contractor likes what he finds these days."Almost every location in the state seems to be busy. We have a major shortage of trained personnel - framers, sheet metal workers, plumbers and electricians," says Chapman, president of the New Mexico Home Builders Association.
In Albuquerque, he says, some construction companies have begun advertising nationally for workers because of the demand for housing and other projects.
At the same time, since 1990 the population has jumped by 66,000 and the work force by 36,000.
New Mexico's economy is sizzling, thanks in large part to job gains during the past year in the construction, health-care and retail trade industries. The state also has escaped damaging cuts in the defense industry and major corporate layoffs that have plagued other parts of the country.
Looking into the future, economists see no dark clouds for New Mexico.
"There is nothing there that could act as a real drag on our economy," says Larry Waldman, a senior economist at the University of New Mexico's Bureau of Business and Economic Research.
"I really don't see anything at the moment that I could point to as a weakness in the foundation."
Not since the 1970s has New Mexico enjoyed such a sunny economic outlook. The '70s boom turned into a bust when the oil and gas industry collapsed from low prices in the 1980s.
Analysts agree the state's economy is healthy, but they cannot identify a single reason why it happened. Helping usher in the economic gains were low interest rates, housing shortages in some cities, pent-up consumer demand, tax breaks for business expansion, a relatively low-wage labor force and increased government spending on medical care programs.
Kay Marr, secretary of the state Finance and Administration Department, says "in-migration is the most important factor: relocation of retirees, entrepreneurs, small business, construction workers and major factories, especially from California."
Intel Corp. plans to double the size of its computer chip plant at Rio Rancho on Albuquerque's northwest fringe.
Other computer and electronics companies are growing as well.
Philips Semiconductors hired 400 additional workers in the past 18 months, boosting its Albuquerque plant payroll to 1,200.
Larry Fallin, plant manager at Philips, says the company is considering a $50 million to $80 million expansion that could bring another 100 to 500 workers to the area, perhaps as soon as 1995.
The job growth in Albuquerque, home to a third of the state's population of about 1.5 million, has produced other economic spinoffs, such as increased car sales and rising retail sales.
As the state's largest city, Albuquerque powers much of New Mexico's economy. But economic development efforts also are paying dividends in other parts of the state.
In Cibola County, which lost nearly a fourth of its population during the 1980s when uranium mining jobs disappeared, McKinley Paper Co. is building a new mill to produce a paper product from recycled corrugated boxes. The $75 million project at Prewitt is expected to create 60 jobs, with salaries averaging $27,000 a year.
Tourism remains a force in the state's economy. Travelers accounted for an estimated $2.4 billion in spending and 48,000 jobs throughout New Mexico last year.
Another factor in New Mexico's recovery is stability in the oil and gas business and hard rock mining, weak areas of the economy in the past decade because of layoffs from closings of uranium, copper, molybdenum and potash mines.
State severance tax revenues from oil and gas production have increased by a third, or nearly $6 million, from last year mainly because of gas price increases.
Coal production has risen at record rates the past three years, according to the New Mexico Mining Association, with Midwestern utilities buying low-sulfur coal as a way to reduce emissions that contribute to acid rain.
Still, not every part of the state is blessed by the economic growth.
Statewide, one of every five people lived in poverty last year, according to the Census Bureau. Only three other states had higher poverty rates - Louisiana, Mississippi and West Virginia.
Unemployment remains stubbornly high, 7.4 percent statewide in August - 10th highest in the nation. About a third of the state's counties had jobless rates hovering above 10 percent and it was 28.5 percent in one rural county.
By contrast, the Albuquerque metropolitan area had unemployment of 5.4 percent and the Santa Fe area was the lowest in the state, 3.6 percent.
"There are pockets of problems, but on the whole it's pretty broad-based job growth that is going on," says Gerry Bradley, an economic analyst with the New Mexico Department of Labor.
Editors note: This is the fourth in a seven part series looking at the Rocky Mountain Region which is emerging as a national economic leader and is expected to be a major player in the future global marketplace. Stories profiling Colorado, Idaho and Utah will follow.
Tomorrow: Colorado