Curry County economic report shows improvement

The pandemic isn’t quite over, but as more and more people get the vaccine and are able to get out and back to normal the state and Curry County’s economies are beginning to see upward trends.

The New Mexico Economic Development Department recently released the latest of its quarterly economic reports for the state and all 33 counties. The May 2021 reports include data through the third quarter of fiscal year 2021: January, February, and March.

This is the fifth in a series of quarterly economic summaries that began in May 2020. The series provides a vivid picture of the effects the pandemic and associated public orders have had on the state’s economy. The May 2021 reports provide the first indicator of economic recovery.

New Mexico State and many of its counties had a very good month in March 2021 in terms of matched taxable gross receipts (MTGR). Whether it was pent up consumer demand, stimulus checks deposited in consumer bank accounts, or the easing of business restrictions, March had the highest total monthly MTGR ($6.4 billion) since December 2019 ($6.8 billion) and was the largest amount of reported MTGR when compared to March of previous years, dating back to FY08.

MTGR are the best tax data available to show underlying economic activity. The data collection process matches a tax payment with reported receipts for each taxpayer by industry.

In a press release published by the New Mexico Economic Development Department the Cabinet Secretary Alicia J. Keyes said the state is slowly returning back to what it was pre-pandemic.

“While we realize we have much work to do toward economic recovery, these reports clearly indicate that New Mexico is beginning to return to pre-pandemic levels in all economic sectors,” Keyes said.

Deputy Secretary Jon Clark said the agency began generating the reports from wide-ranging data sets to give decision makers a condensed snapshot of economic activity on the local and county level. Clark has heard from many legislators who use the reports to track economic activity in their respective districts and to assist with policy decisions.

“Better data leads to better policy, and these localized county-level reports are proving to be an important tool as we work to grow and diversify New Mexico’s economy,” Clark said.

Chase Gentry, executive director for the Clovis Industrial Development Corporation, explained that the report showed a few improvements in a couple different fields.

One place Gentry noticed an improvement was in the county’s unemployment rate.

“The governor changed the rules where now you have to prove that you’re looking for a job,” Gentry stated. “So before those rules were changed you could file for unemployment and just stay home. Now it’s pushing people back into the (work force) instead of just applying for unemployment.”

Last month the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions ended the work search waiver, so now any unemployed New Mexico citizen must show proof that they did at least two things each week to continue their search for a job before they can apply for unemployment benefits.

Gentry said this has brought unemployment claims down.

He also mentioned an increase in Gross Receipts Tax (GRT), although he did note that there wasn’t a huge decrease in the tax during the pandemic. He credits that to the fact that a lot of people chose to shop locally during COVID-19, where before they might have gone out of town to do their shopping.

The report also showed an increase in the housing market.

“Before the pandemic we had about 400 homes on the market, and now we’re down to 120-140,” Gentry commented. “You’re also seeing a lot of home construction that we didn’t have happening before the pandemic. I think it’s been driven by the low interest rates.”

He also noted the fact that many building materials costs, such as lumber, have gone up.

Overall, Gentry said the increases are a good thing that show that the county is slowly returning back to normal.

“I think it’s exciting news that we’re starting to open back up,” Gentry said. “I think we’re starting to see a positive turn. I know there’s a lot of employers still looking for employees and struggling, but I think that’s going to get better and better as time goes on.”

The full third-quarter report is available at the EDD’s website. The fourth quarter report is expected to be released in August.