“Mixed signals blurred the story in Albuquerque at the start of the year.”
That’s an overview from the Brookings Institution’s Mountain Monitor report on economic performance of 10 major Mountain West metros in the first quarter.
The unemployment rate decreased in Albuquerque for the sixth straight quarter. Job growth picked up, and employment expanded by 0.6 percent.
But output decreased by the same amount. Albuquerque was the only major metro area in the Mountain region that had an output decrease, though the nation as a whole did too.
The Duke City’s unemployment rate is still the second-highest in the region.
And though home prices increased — by 1.3 percent in the quarter and 3.4 percent year over year — that’s a lower than average increase compared to the region and nation.
Eight of the 10 metro areas the report monitors saw gains in all four economic indicators Brookings tracks. “Steady economic growth appears to have finally taken hold in every one of the region’s metro areas,” the report said.
For more, see the Brookings report.
By: Rachel Sams (Albuquerque Business First)
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