County unemployment rate drops

QCS Staff

Quay County’s unemployment rate for December was 4.9 percent, according to the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions.

The December figure is about eight-tenths of a percentage point below the November unemployment rate of 5.7 percent and nine-tenths of a percentage point below the December 2013 rate, a department news release said.

Quay County’s workforce totaled 3,739 in December, compared to 3,816 in November and 3,778 in December 2013, the news release said.

There were 182 persons unemployed in December 218 in November and 220 in December 2013, the department reported.

New Mexico’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.1 percent in December 2014, down from 6.4 percent in November and down from 6.6 percent a year ago. The national unemployment rate was 5.6 percent, down from November’s rate of 5.8 percent and down from 6.7 percent in December 2013.

The rate of over-the-year job growth for nonfarm payroll employment, comparing December 2014 with December 2013, was 1.7 percent, representing a gain of 13,500 jobs. Between April and November 2014, job growth improved substantially (from -0.6 percent to 1.8 percent). This month’s net job gains were somewhat lower than gains in November, which were the highest seen since March 2007, the news release said.

Over recent months, in addition to boosts in education and health services employment, there has been growth in an increasing number of industries, the news release said. This broad industrial growth was maintained in December, with gains in ten industries and losses in three.

As mentioned above, education and health services continued to lead other industries, with an increase of 6,800 jobs, or 5.5 percent, over the year. This month’s over-the-year employment gain in these industries was the highest seen since April 2002, accounting for over 43 percent of total over-the-year gross job gains, the news release said.