Blog Post

Residential Rentals and Sales Effected by Unemployment Rate

Blair Hart • Mar 23, 2017

New Mexico unemployment rate highest in the nation for second month in a row

Residential rental  and sales markets in the metro area may be affected if the regional  unemployment rate remains this high.   The unemployment rate is an economic indicator about the strength of the job market and the status of household finances. Rising unemployment can lead to reduced levels of consumer spending and higher instances of delinquency, default, and bankruptcy. Low unemployment indicates a tight labor market, where employers have a tougher time finding people to fill jobs and often must pay more to attract them.

Bernillo County’s rate is better than the state overall

The U.S. Department of Labor  released a new report Monday showing New Mexico with a 6.7 percent unemployment rate for January, surpassing Alaska and Alabama. This is the second month in a row that New Mexico has posted the highest unemployment rate in the country.  New Mexico’s unemployment rate remained unchanged from December. Alaska’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.5 percent, making New Mexico’s unemployment rate the highest.   The New Mexico private-sector job market has been struggling for several years. New Mexico’s unemployment rate in January 2016 was 6.5 percent. New Hampshire had the lowest January 2016 unemployment rate at 2.7 percent, followed by Hawaii at 2.8 percent.  The current unemployment rate for Bernillo County is 5.9% according to the area specific unemployment profile published by the   New Mexico workforce Connection.  This is better than the state and  below the national average.

Residential Rentals in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho remain stable

Residential Rentals in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho are still strong.  This is driven by a lack of new apartment communities coming on line in the past couple of years.  Currently, there are several apartment communities under construction.  So far, residential sales have remained steady from last year.   Albuquerque and Rio Rancho have not been hit as hard as the rest of the state.  We are hopeful, the area  unemployment rate will start to come down as we see increased construction in the better weather.

This is the first time New Mexico has had the highest rate

According to the Albuquerque Journal , this is the first time that New Mexico has had the nation’s highest unemployment rate, however, stubbornly high unemployment has dogged the state since 2006,  Albuquerque private sector jobs have declined by almost 15,000 between September 2006 when there were 318,200 private-sector jobs and September 2016 when there were only 3o3,300 private sector jobs.

The national unemployment rate is 4.8 percent. Employers added 238,000 jobs, higher than what was expected.Employers boosted hiring in 13 U.S. states in January, while employment changed little in 36 states. , New Mexico’s unemployment insurance trust fund balance was $378 million as of October.

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