MORE THAN A 100,000 NEW
MEXICANS LOST THEIR JOBS
DURING THE PANDEMIC SO WHAT
DOES NEW MEXICO LOOK LIKE
COMPARED TO OTHER STATES AND
WHAT COULD OUR RECOVERY LOOK
LIKE.
KRQE INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER
GABRIELLE BURKHART TAKES A
CLOSER LOOK AT NEW MEXICO'S
UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS.
LET'S FACE IT RIGHT HERE IN
THE WIND TUNNEL JOSEPH IS AN
INSTRUCTOR AND URBAN AIR
ADVENTURE PARK IN ALBUQUERQUE,
PREPANDEMIC HE SAYS IT WAS
PRETTY EASY TO DESCRIBE HIS
JOB, IT'S FUN TO GO TO WORK
THEY FLY AND THE SMILES THAT
YOU KNOW THAT'S THAT'S THAT'S
THE COOLEST PART IN MARCH OF
2020 WHEN COVID-19 HIT THE
STATE OR GO WAS AMONG THE
FIRST WAVES OF NEW MEXICANS TO
GET LAID OFF HIS WORKPLACE
SHUT DOWN THAT IT TAKES THIS
LONG THIS LONG MARCH MARKED
HAS BEEN COMPLETELY CLOSED
DOWN PER THE STATE'S PUBLIC
HEALTH ORDER OVER THIS PAST
YEAR OR GUSTS AS IT'S GIVEN
HIM A WHOLE NEW PERSPECTIVE ON
NOT ONLY WHAT IT'S LIKE TO
LOSE YOUR JOB IN A PANDEMIC.
BUT YOU LOSE YOUR HOME IN
THE PROCESS I WAS ACTUALLY
JUST BEHIND A GAS STATION
TRYING TO STAY WARM FOR IN.
HE CALLED ME HIS BOSS BRIAN
GARCIA CALLED OR GO TO FIND
OUT WHERE HE SHOULD SEND HIS W
2 OR GO AHEAD NO HOME ADDRESS
TO GIVE HIM YOU DON'T WANT TO
YOU KNOW TELL PEOPLE'S.
TO MOST YOU FEEL
THAT'S HOW IT IS YOU HE SAID
I'M COMING TO GET YOU HE'S
BEEN LIVING WITH HIS FORMER
BOSS FOR THE PAST COUPLE
MONTHS IF IT HURTS TO SEE THEM
STRUGGLING. GARCIA SAYS
ROUGHLY 25% OF HIS FORMER
STAFF LEFT THE STATE TO FIND
WORK.
STRUGGLED WITH THE
UNEMPLOYMENT PROCESS WE HAD 83
EMPLOYEES THERE.
A TO LAY OFF.
WE LAID WHENEVER THE
PANDEMIC STARTED WE LAID OFF
NOW WE HAVE ONE. AND THAT'S
OUR BOOKKEEPER. TO KEEP TRACK
OF HOW MUCH MONEY WE'RE
LOSING.
78,000 NEW MEXICANS ON
UNEMPLOYMENT. WE WANTED TO
KNOW HOW WE FARED OVERALL
COMPARED TO OTHER STATES WE
LOST PROBABLY DOUBLE THE
NUMBER OF JOBS WILL BE LOST IN
THE GREAT RECESSION. SO.
IT'S A MUCH DEEPER HOLE
THAT WE'RE IN AND WE WENT OVER
SOME OF THE DATA O'DONNELL
ACTING DIRECTOR OF UN M'S
BUREAU OF BUSINESS AND
ECONOMIC RESEARCH WHAT'S
HAPPENED SINCE KIND OF THE
BOUNCE BACK IS THAT MEXICO
DOES BOUNCE BACK RELATIVELY
SLOWER IN JANUARY 2020 THE
STATE WAS SEEING SOME JOB
GROWTH.
BUT NEW MEXICO HAD ONE OF
THE COUNTRY'S HIGHEST
UNEMPLOYMENT RATES AROUND 5%.
WHEN BUSINESSES SHUT DOWN LAST
YEAR JOBLESS CLAIMS
SKYROCKETED KRQE DATA REPORTER
CURTIS CIGAR USED BUREAU OF
LABOR STATISTICS TO PUT OUR
STATE'S UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS IN
PERSPECTIVE.
BY APRIL OF 2020 JOBLESS
CLAIMS JUMPED ACROSS THE U.S.
AND UNEMPLOYMENT SKYROCKETED
IN SOME STATES AND MEXICO
FARED BETTER THAN MANY OF
THOSE STATES. NOW BY JULY WE
HAD ONE OF OUR HIGHEST RATES
OF UNEMPLOYMENT AT 12.5% AND
WE WERE BACK NEAR THE BOTTOM
HAS ONE OF THE HIGHEST
UNEMPLOYMENT RATES IN THE
COUNTRY AT 8.3% WITH NEW YORK
AND HAWAII, FAIRING SLIGHTLY
WORSE.
SECTORS IN THE PANDEMIC IS
LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY DOWN
ROUGHLY 30,000 JOBS STATEWIDE
FROM THE YEAR BEFORE WE'RE
LOOKING AT BASICALLY A 4.3
BILLION DOLLAR.
ECONOMIC INJURY. IN 2020
CODY JOHNSON WITH THE STATE'S
TOURISM DEPARTMENT SAYS THAT
5 BILLION DOLLARS LOST IN
VISITOR SPENDING.
PLUS THE COST OF
UNEMPLOYMENT AND LOST TAX
REVENUE FOR HOSPITALITY AND
SLOW TO SEE THOSE JOB NUMBERS
COME BACK UNTIL WE DO.
LEGITIMATE LEE GET PAST
THIS PANDEMIC IT'S ALSO KIND
OF AN INDICATION OF WHY IT'S
SO IMPORTANT TO INVEST IN
RECOVERY EFFORTS. HE SAYS
THERE'S WORK TAKING PLACE ON
THE BACK IN TO SUPPORT
BUSINESSES EFFORTS AND HIRE
BACK WORKERS.
AGREE COVID VACCINES AND
BUSINESSES REOPENING WILL PLAY
A ROLE IN NEW MEXICO'S
ECONOMIC RECOVERY. PEOPLE'S
BEHAVIORS WILL TOO PEOPLE HAVE
GOTTEN.
USED TO DOING THINGS IN A
NEW WAY.
I MEAN WE'RE TALKING RIGHT
NOW ON ZOOM RATHER THAN IN
PERSON PEOPLE ARE SHOPPING
THE STORE THERE'S NO GUARANTEE
THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO GO
BACK TO THE WAY THINGS FOR
EXACTLY AND THERE'S NO
TIMETABLE FOR HOW LONG.
TAKE O'DONNELL SAYS IT COULD
TAKE YEARS BUT NEW MEXICO MAY
HAVE A LEG UP IN SOME WAYS OUR
RESEARCH SHOWS THAT YOU KNOW
WHEN PEOPLE START TO REALLY
ENGAGE WITH TRAVEL THEY'RE
GOING TO LOOK FOR OUTDOOR
EXPERIENCES FIND SPACE THAT
WE'VE GOT PLENTY OF THAT NEW
MEXICO FOR PEOPLE LIKE GARCIA
WHO'S WATCHING OTHER URBAN AIR
COUNTRY. IT'S JUST BEEN AN
EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER. I
MEAN WE WANT TO BE OPEN LIKE
ALL THESE OTHER BUSINESSES
THAT ARE ABLE TO YOU KNOW AT
LEAST MITIGATE SOME OF THE.
THE LOSSES THAT.
YOU KNOW BUILDING UP ITS
HARD NOT TO BE DISCOURAGED BY
THE EMPTY 35,000 SQUARE FOOT
FACILITY IN NEW MEXICO'S SLOW
SHOWS THAT WE'RE FALLING
BEHIND WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
FOR A LOOK THE MAIN THING
KEEPING HERE. THIS JOB NEVER
WANTING SO BADLY TO GET BACK
TO WORK.
LOVE TO GO TO WORK. AND I STAY
AFTER GABRIELLE BURKHART KRQE
INVESTIGATES.
UNDER THE GOVERNOR'S NEW
REOPENING CRITERIA, URBAN
AREAS PLANNING TO REOPEN AT
25% CAPACITY NEXT WEEK WITH
BERNALILLO COUNTY TURNING