Unfortunately no surprises — not much change.

The percentages continue to look better than most of the country and continue to be lousy on an absolute basis. Both New Mexico as a whole and the Albuquerque/Rio Rancho data paint a picture of a work force that has a long way to go to return to normalcy.

New Mexico
2009 July unemployment was 7% — up from 6.8% in June
2008 July unemployment was 4.2%

Albuquerque/Rio Rancho
2009 July unemployment was 6.8% — the same as in June
2008 July unemployment was the same as the state as a whole: 4.2%

In both cases, the only sectors performing well are Education/Health Care and Government. All others are in negative territory. And that, of course, means none of the ‘building blocks’ for a sustained rebound are in place.