PRESS
RELEASE
September
1, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Gerry Bradley, Research Director, New Mexico Voices for Children
505-244-9505 ext. 23 (p), 505-264-0074 (c), gbradley@nmvoices.org
OR:
Sharon Kayne, Communications Director, New Mexico Voices for
Children
505-244-9505 ext. 30 (p), 505-401-8709 (c), skayne@nmvoices.org
"State
of Working New Mexico 2006" Report:
Job Growth, Employment Up; Poverty Down Slightly
But NM Still Lags Behind Nation in Economic Recovery
ALBUQUERQUE-While
New Mexico's job growth is up and poverty is down slightly,
the state still ranks at or near the bottom for most economic
indicators in comparison to the rest of the country. That's
one of the key findings of the "State of Working New Mexico
2006" (SWNM) report by NM Voices for Children. The report
was released today in conjunction with the release of "State
of Working America" by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
The
report also finds that New Mexico's economic growth has occurred
primarily in its urban counties, while its rural counties still
grapple with unemployment and under-education. Besides job growth
and poverty, "SWNM" looks at wages, job quality, work
hours and household wealth. The report also poses several policies
to address these issues.
The
report data, combined with the numbers released Tuesday (Aug.
29) by the US Census Bureau, shows a flat recovery for most
working Americans in an otherwise robust economy. The Census
data shows no statistically significant change in the poverty
rate nationwide even though the country is in year four of an
economic recovery. Real wages have not kept up with increasing
productivity or inflation, and the income inequality gap continues
to widen. While the country as a whole was plagued by a loss
of health insurance coverage - mostly employer-based coverage
- New Mexico maintained its same level of health insurance coverage.
The
"State of Working New Mexico 2006' report is posted at
http://www.nmvoices.org/attachments/swnm_06_pdf_version.pdf
The Census report is available at http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p60-231.pdf
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New Mexico Voices for Children is a nonprofit organization advocating
for policies to improve the health and well-being of New Mexico's
children, families and communities.
2340 Alamo SE, Suite 120, Albuquerque, NM 97106; 505-244-9505
(p), 505-244-9509 (f) www.nmvoices.org
