Report: NM economic growth strong but more investment needed

SANTA FE — New Mexico experienced “strong economic growth in most industries across the state, but continued investment is needed to create jobs and broaden employment opportunities.”

That's according to a New Mexico Economic Development Department report for the first quarter of Fiscal 2022, which began on July 1.

“The data shows statewide improvement in 16 of 21 industry sectors with GRT increasing 15% in all industries over the year," said Alicia J. Keyes, cabinet secretary for the EDD. "Growth is especially strong in areas that were hardest hit by the pandemic.”

Roosevelt County was among four counties in New Mexico that failed to show economic growth between the first quarter of the last two fiscal years. But that is attributed to the Sagamore Wind Project, which was completed before the first quarter of 2022.

The report included the first quarters of the current fiscal year - July, August and September - and those same months from 2020.

For Roosevelt County, the EDD noted that “matched taxable gross receipts” (MTGR) in the first quarter of 2022 were about $154.7 million less than for the same period in fiscal 2021. The difference was nearly double the total of MTGR, $86.4 million, which Roosevelt County reported for the first quarter of 2022, which is close to usual Roosevelt County quarterly averages, EDD stated in a fact sheet.

County Manager Amber Hamilton and Roosevelt County Community Development Corp. Director Jim Lucero agreed the status of the Sagamore project between quarters was the most likely cause of the drop.

The fact sheet describes MTGR as “the best tax data available to show underlying economic activity.”

It matches a tax payment with reported receipts for each taxpayer by industry, the fact sheet states.

EDD noted the utility sector, which would include Xcel Energy, the Sagamore project's builder, accounted for $123.6 million in decreases, and the construction sector noted a decrease of $40.8 million. These decreases were offset by increases in gross receipts in other economic sectors to leave the balance of $154.7 million

The Sagamore Wind Project began in November 2019 and was completed in December 2020, the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2021. The project's total cost was around $900 million, Xcel said in December 2020, and U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich said Sagamore was the state's largest wind energy development. It includes 240 wind turbines that can produce 522 megawatts, which can energize up to 194,000 homes when operating a full power.

From the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 to the first quarter of 2022, however, MTGR in Roosevelt County grew by $4.6 million, or 6%.

Lucero said that is likely to be because people are shopping locally and staying close to home due to COVID-19 concerns.

In Curry County, MTGR increased by $25 million, or 10%, from the last quarter of fiscal 2021 to the first quarter of the current fiscal year. The total MTGR for the first quarter of fiscal 2022 was more than $279.7 million. From the first quarter of fiscal 2021, however, the first quarter of 2022 yielded an increase of $51.7 million, or 23%, in MTGR.

EDD's table of MTGR sources shows that the greatest increases from fiscal 2021's first quarter to fiscal 2022's first three months were in construction, which jumped by nearly $11 million or 49%; retail sales, which grew by nearly $16.5 million or 23%; and accommodations and food services, which grew by about $5 million, or 20%.