In addition to reporting a significantly high unemployment rate for the state of New Mexico, a recent Rio Grande Foundation analysis revealed that the state is currently suffering from a low workforce engagement rate.
"We know New Mexico's unemployment rate is the highest in the nation thanks to Gov. Lujan Grisham's policies,” Paul Gessing, president of the Rio Grande Foundation, wrote in a tweet. “But how about workforce participation? How has the state's rate evolved since #covid19? Hint, we lag the region.”
New Mexico reported a current unemployment rate of 7.9%, one of the indicators of its economic state, Error of Enchantment reports. The organization's data comparison between January 2020 and June 2021, however, indicates the state’s low workforce to be the lowest in the country, and workforce participation to be the lowest. The rate equally exemplifies its current financial status.
According to Error of Enchantment, the purpose of the research report is to highlight the important aspects of the state’s economic policies and to determine how severely its workforce was impacted by the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite a partial restoration of the economy nationwide, BLS workforce participation rate data suggests that the pandemic has only added to the struggle New Mexico faces with workforce participation. Unemployed residents’ lack of interest continues to stall the state’s full financial recovery, Error of Enchantment says.