Archives for March 2015

The Albuquerque metro area ranked 184 out of 358 metros across the country for its rate of job growth in the construction sector during January, adding 600 jobs or 3 percent compared to a year earlier, according to an analysis of federal employment data by the Associated General Contractors of America.
All told, 247 metros saw construction employment increase, while 56 registered a decrease and 55 were unchanged. The January snapshot of employment trends shows a lot of turbulence in the pace and direction of change in construction jobs across the country, noted AGC chief economist Ken Simonson in a news release.
Elsewhere in New Mexico, Las Cruces ranked 350 out of 358 metros with the loss of 400 jobs or 11 percent of its construction work force while Santa Fe ranked 354 with the loss of 400 jobs or 15 percent of its work force.
By: Richard Metcalf (Albuquerque Journal)
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At the LIN March 2015 Meeting on March 18, 2015, fourteen excellent properties were presented. Thank you for presenting properties and attending the meeting! Thank you to our host, 5400 Central Ave NE.
View March LIN properties here.

Commercial fundamentals improved in the fourth quarter 2014, with rising net absorption driving rents higher across the major property types. As employment gains are expected to continue into 2015, demand for commercial space is expected to advance.
Multifamily demand is expected to remain strong, as the pace of household formation closes on historical averages. However, 2015 will mark the first year since the recession that supply will likely outpace demand.
Fundamental improvements were experienced across the country at different rates. In 2014, Lexington, KY provided the largest year-over-year availability decline, with a 100 basis point drop. The second largest declines came from six markets, with varying vacancy rates, which all experienced 90 basis point drops: Albuquerque, NM; Columbia, SC; Dayton, OH; Fort Worth, TX; Las Vegas, NV; and Tulsa, OK.

Of the group, Ft. Worth and Las Vegas are the largest by population, with over 2.0 million people in each metro area. The other markets hover slightly below 1.0 million people. Employment trends were positive for five metros, with Albuquerque being the only one to experience a slight decline in total employment. A contributing factor to the decline may have been an exodus of residents from the metro area. Albuquerque lost 2,940 households between 2013 and 2014.  Dayton was the other metro area with a decline in the number of households over the period—890 households.
Las Vegas had the strongest employment growth of the group, at 3.2 percent followed by Ft. Worth, with 2.8 percent growth year-over-year.  In contrast to its household change, Dayton’s employment advanced 1.3 percent on a yearly basis. Tulsa experienced a 1.2 percent gain in employment, while Columbia posted 0.4 percent increase in total employment.
Vacancies ranged across the group from about 3.0 percent in Albuquerque to 6.0 percent in Columbia during 2014. Demand was positive across all metros, with net absorption registering growth in three metros—Dayton (85% YoY change), Ft. Worth (17% YoY change) and Tulsa (27% YoY change). Asking rents advanced in all markets, with Ft. Worth posting the highest annual growth rate, at 3.3 percent, followed by Tulsa, with 3.2 percent.  Rents rose 2.3 percent in Las Vegas, 2.1 percent in Columbia and Dayton, and 1.7 percent in Albuquerque.
By: George Ratiu (Economists’ Outlook)
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The job picture in New Mexico brightened in January, with nine of 14 employment sectors contributing to a year-over-year gain of 10,200 jobs around the state, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Department of Workforce Solutions.

The additional jobs translate to 1.3 percent job growth from January 2014 to January this year, with roughly two out of every five new jobs created in the robust private education and health services employment sector.

New Mexico’s unemployment rate was 6.2 percent in January, up from 5.6 percent in December and down from 7.1 percent in January 2014, the report says. The unemployment rate nationwide was 6.1 percent in January, up from 5.4 percent in December but down from 7 percent in January 2014.

The jobs report for January reflects a process known as benchmarking, where the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reconciles its basic survey-based employment data with other sources of information. In New Mexico, the process resulted in revisions that improved employment numbers.

“Following the benchmark, total nonfarm employment showed continuous growth from September 2012, with over-the-year growth ranging between 8,000 and 12,000 jobs for every month since July 2014,” the report says.

One employment sector that benefited from benchmarking was business and professional services, which includes employees and contractors at Sandia National Laboratories and is widely viewed as a bellwether of the local economy. The revisions show job growth in five of the last six months of 2014. As of January, the year-over-year gain was 1,700 jobs or 1.7 percent.

The mining employment sector, which includes energy-related jobs, added 1,400 jobs from January to January for 5.2 percent job growth. The effect of falling petroleum prices, however, may have contributed to a small decrease from December to January, the sector’s first month-over-month decrease since April and May 2009.

Other employment sectors showing annual improvement were financial activities; information; retail trade; transportation, warehousing and utilities; wholesale trade; and the miscellaneous other services.

On the downside, leisure and hospitality posted its first year-over-year job loss since September 2010. Benchmarking pumped up employment numbers in construction and manufacturing, although both sectors lost jobs from January to January.

Total government employment dropped by 1,200 jobs, or 0.6 percent, with losses registered at the local, state and federal levels.

By: ABQnews Staff (Albuquerque Journal)

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