Socorro County vs. New Mexico
Comparative Trends Analysis:
Total Employment Growth and Change, 1969-2022
Introduction
Socorro County vs. New Mexico
Socorro County:
2022 Jobs = 7,457
2022 Percent of State = 0.65%
New Mexico:
2022 Jobs = 1,139,488
2022 Percent of U.S. = 0.54%
Employment numbers remain the most popular and frequently cited statistics used for tracking local area economic conditions and trends. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) employment estimates reported measure the number of full- and part-time wage and salary employees, plus the number of proprietors of unincorporated businesses. People holding more than one job are counted in the employment estimates for each job they hold. This means BEA employment estimates represent a job count, not a people count. Also, BEA employment is by place-of-work, rather than by place-of-residence. Jobs held by neighboring county residents who commute to Socorro County to work are included in the employment count for Socorro County.
Data Definition:
The BEA employment series for states and local areas comprises estimates of the number of jobs, full-time plus part-time, by place of work. Full-time and part-time jobs are counted at equal weight. Employees, sole proprietors, and active partners are included, but unpaid family workers and volunteers are not included. Proprietors employment consists of the number of sole proprietorships and the number of partners in partnerships. The description "by place of work" applies to the wage and salary portion of the series and, with relatively little error, to the entire series. The proprietors employment portion of the series, however, is more nearly by place of residence because, for nonfarm sole proprietorships, the estimates are based on IRS tax data that reflect the address from which the proprietor's individual tax return is filed, which is usually the proprietor's residence. The nonfarm partnership portion of the proprietors employment series reflects the tax-filing address of the partnership, which may be either the residence of one of the partners or the business address of the partnership. The employment estimates are designed to be consistent with the estimates of wages and salaries and proprietors' income that are part of the personal income series. The employment estimates are based on the same sets of source data as the corresponding earnings estimates and are prepared with parallel methodologies. Two forms of proprietors' income-the income of limited partnerships and the income of tax-exempt cooperatives-have no corresponding employment estimates.
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Figure 1.
Figure 1 traces Socorro County's annual total employment for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate total employment patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Socorro County's total employment rose from 3,483 in 1969 to 7,457 in 2022, for a net gain of 3,974, or 114.10%.
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Figure 2.
Figure 2 tracks New Mexico's annual total employment for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate total employment patterns over time. During this 54-year period, New Mexico's total employment rose from 394,799 in 1969 to 1,139,488 in 2022, for a net gain of 744,689, or 188.62%.
Total Employment Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022
Total Employment Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022
Figure 3.
Figure 3 shows Socorro County's total employment growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with New Mexico, the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's total employment in 1969 as a base figure of 100, and the total employments in later years as a percentage of the 1969 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in total employment growth between regions that may differ vastly in size.
Socorro County's overall total employment growth was 114.10% over 1969-2022 trailed New Mexico's increase of 188.62%, and fell below the United States' increase of 133.32%.
Total Employment as a Percent of the New Mexico Total: 1969-2022
Total Employment as a Percent of the New Mexico Total: 1969-2022
Figure 4.
Another interesting and insightful way of highlighting the total employment growth of Socorro County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to New Mexico's statewide total employment over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's total employment grew faster, or declined less, than New Mexico's total employment, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly.
In 1969, Socorro County's total employment comprised 0.88% of New Mexico's total employment, while in 2022 it equated to 0.65% thereby yielding a -0.23% share-shift.
   
 
Total Employment Share-Shift
2022 vs. 1969
 
Share-
Shift*
 
2022
vs.
1969
-0.23%
=
0.65%
-
0.88%
 
   
Socorro County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022
Socorro County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022
Figure 5.
Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of Socorro County's total employment growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2022. The average annual percent change for the entire 53-year period is also traced on this chart to provide a benchmark for gauging periods of relative high--and relative low--growth against the backdrop of the long-term average.
On average, Socorro County's total employment grew at an annual rate of 1.50% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 1979 (10.46%) and posted its lowest growth in 1971 (-5.48%). In 2022, Socorro County's total employment grew by 1.82%
Socorro County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022
Socorro County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022
Figure 6.
Over the past five decades some counties have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again shows the annual percent change in Socorro County's total employment since 1970, but this time they are overlayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2022.
During the 1970s, Socorro County's annual total employment growth rate averaged 3.23%. It averaged 3.14% throughout the 1980s, 0.88% in the 1990s, 1.78% during the 2000s, -0.88% in the 2010s, -0.71% thus far this decade (2020-2022).
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change by Decade
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change by Decade
Figure 7.
Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Socorro County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for New Mexico and the nation. As the chart reveals, Socorro County's average annual total employment growth fell below New Mexico's average during the 1970s (3.23% vs. 4.15%), led New Mexico's average in the 1980s (3.14% vs. 2.38%), recorded under New Mexico's average throughout the 1990s (0.88% vs. 2.34%), exceeded New Mexico's average in the 2000s (1.78% vs. 1.31%), lagged New Mexico's average during the 2010s (-0.88% vs. 0.41%), and lagged New Mexico's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (-0.71% vs. 0.74%).
Finally, relative to nationwide total employment growth trends, Socorro County led the nation in the 1970s (3.23% vs. 2.21%), outpaced the nation over the 1980s (3.14% vs. 1.88%), posted below the nation in the 1990s (0.88% vs. 1.73%), registered above the nation in the 2000s (1.78% vs. 0.74%), lagged the nation throughout the 2010s (-0.88% vs. 1.51%), and recorded underneath the nation over 2020-2022 (-0.71% vs. 1.82%).
   
 
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change
 
 
 
1.50
3.23
3.14
0.88
1.78
-0.88
-0.71
1.82
 
2.04
4.15
2.38
2.34
1.31
0.41
0.74
4.29
 
1.62
2.21
1.88
1.73
0.74
1.51
1.82
4.78
 
   
Job Ratios (Employment/Population): 1969-2022
Job Ratios (Employment/Population): 1969-2022
Figure 8.
The job ratios shown in Figure 8 for Socorro County, New Mexico and the nation not only portray a number of important trends, they also serves as a thumbnail guide to evaluating an economy's capacity to generate enough jobs fast enough to absorb the increasing number of workers attendant to a growing population. The job ratio is the number of full-time and part-time jobs by place of work, divided by population.
Nationally, the job ratio rose from 0.45 to 0.64 between 1969 and 2022. Socorro County's job ratio registered 0.36 in 1969, and 0.46 in 2022. Underlying the rising job ratio over the past several decades have been the increases in the labor force participation rates, with the number and proportion of women in the labor market playing a leading role.
An assortment of other factors can contribute to regional differences in the job ratio. They include differences in the proportion of elderly and retirees who no longer work and participate in the labor force, differences in the number and proportion of part-time vs. full-time workers, differences in industry composition, and differences in age and sex distribution and degree of urbanization. Also, a disproportionate number of workers commuting to work outside a county tends to lower its local county job ratio, while a net inflow of workers commuting to work inside the county tends to augment its local county job ratio.
Avoid interpreting the job ratio as the fraction (or percent) of the local population employed. This interpretation should only apply to the "employment-population ratio" statistic compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from the Current Population Survey (CPS).
Job Ratios (Employment/Population)
as a Percent of the U.S. Average:
1969-2022
Job Ratios (Employment/Population)
as a Percent of the U.S. Average:
1969-2022
Figure 9.
To highlight trends in a local job ratio relative to nationwide trends, Figure 9 tracks Socorro County's, New Mexico's job ratio as a percent of the national job ratio over 1969-2022.

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
Socorro County:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
3,483
100.0
N
0.88
0.36
78.57
1970
 
3,301
94.8
-5.23
0.83
0.34
75.40
1971
 
3,120
89.6
-5.48
0.75
0.31
70.02
1972
 
3,275
94.0
4.97
0.74
0.32
71.32
1973
 
3,318
95.3
1.31
0.72
0.32
67.91
1974
 
3,529
101.3
6.36
0.74
0.33
70.62
1975
 
3,735
107.2
5.84
0.76
0.33
72.94
1976
 
3,972
114.0
6.35
0.78
0.34
73.02
1977
 
4,132
118.6
4.03
0.77
0.34
71.85
1978
 
4,284
123.0
3.68
0.75
0.34
68.23
1979
 
4,732
135.9
10.46
0.80
0.36
71.70
1980
 
4,887
140.3
3.28
0.82
0.38
76.64
1981
 
5,036
144.6
3.05
0.82
0.38
75.69
1982
 
5,053
145.1
0.34
0.82
0.37
75.91
1983
 
5,290
151.9
4.69
0.84
0.39
77.96
1984
 
5,325
152.9
0.66
0.81
0.38
75.15
1985
 
5,552
159.4
4.26
0.82
0.39
75.78
1986
 
5,546
159.2
-0.11
0.82
0.38
73.09
1987
 
5,800
166.5
4.58
0.83
0.40
75.37
1988
 
6,094
175.0
5.07
0.83
0.41
75.48
1989
 
6,432
184.7
5.55
0.86
0.43
78.76
1990
 
6,534
187.6
1.59
0.86
0.44
79.58
1991
 
6,514
187.0
-0.31
0.83
0.44
80.46
1992
 
6,460
185.5
-0.83
0.81
0.42
78.03
1993
 
6,593
189.3
2.06
0.80
0.42
77.26
1994
 
6,764
194.2
2.59
0.79
0.42
75.79
1995
 
6,906
198.3
2.10
0.77
0.41
74.61
1996
 
6,949
199.5
0.62
0.76
0.41
72.23
1997
 
6,894
197.9
-0.79
0.75
0.40
70.11
1998
 
6,849
196.6
-0.65
0.73
0.39
67.86
1999
 
7,012
201.3
2.38
0.74
0.39
67.45
2000
 
7,175
206.0
2.32
0.74
0.40
68.01
2001
 
6,988
200.6
-2.61
0.72
0.39
67.18
2002
 
7,288
209.2
4.29
0.74
0.41
71.46
2003
 
7,548
216.7
3.57
0.75
0.42
73.33
2004
 
7,771
223.1
2.95
0.76
0.43
75.10
2005
 
8,218
235.9
5.75
0.78
0.46
78.06
2006
 
8,211
235.7
-0.09
0.76
0.45
77.05
2007
 
8,420
241.7
2.55
0.76
0.47
78.50
2008
 
8,528
244.8
1.28
0.77
0.47
80.54
2009
 
8,335
239.3
-2.26
0.78
0.46
82.14
2010
 
8,174
234.7
-1.93
0.77
0.46
82.21
2011
 
8,179
234.8
0.06
0.77
0.46
81.46
2012
 
8,260
237.2
0.99
0.77
0.47
83.00
2013
 
7,961
228.6
-3.62
0.74
0.45
78.95
2014
 
7,815
224.4
-1.83
0.72
0.45
77.59
2015
 
7,855
225.5
0.51
0.72
0.46
77.39
2016
 
7,997
229.6
1.81
0.73
0.47
78.86
2017
 
7,834
224.9
-2.04
0.72
0.47
77.34
2018
 
7,789
223.6
-0.57
0.70
0.47
76.64
2019
 
7,623
218.9
-2.13
0.68
0.46
75.04
2020
 
7,347
210.9
-3.62
0.69
0.44
75.32
2021
 
7,324
210.3
-0.31
0.67
0.45
73.57
2022
 
7,457
214.1
1.82
0.65
0.46
72.60
Source: Calculations by the New Mexico Regional Economic Analysis Project (NM-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PSN
 
   

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
New Mexico:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
394,799
100.0
N
0.43
0.39
86.33
1970
 
398,899
101.0
1.04
0.44
0.39
87.04
1971
 
416,073
105.4
4.31
0.45
0.40
89.21
1972
 
440,381
111.5
5.84
0.47
0.41
90.66
1973
 
460,680
116.7
4.61
0.47
0.42
89.58
1974
 
478,009
121.1
3.76
0.48
0.42
90.18
1975
 
490,785
124.3
2.67
0.50
0.42
91.96
1976
 
512,389
129.8
4.40
0.50
0.43
91.81
1977
 
538,969
136.5
5.19
0.51
0.44
92.03
1978
 
568,233
143.9
5.43
0.52
0.45
91.91
1979
 
592,146
150.0
4.21
0.52
0.46
91.78
1980
 
597,041
151.2
0.83
0.52
0.46
90.90
1981
 
610,846
154.7
2.31
0.53
0.46
91.52
1982
 
619,089
156.8
1.35
0.54
0.45
92.11
1983
 
631,355
159.9
1.98
0.55
0.45
91.54
1984
 
655,141
165.9
3.77
0.54
0.46
90.48
1985
 
674,150
170.8
2.90
0.54
0.47
90.08
1986
 
679,909
172.2
0.85
0.54
0.46
88.42
1987
 
698,586
176.9
2.75
0.54
0.47
88.37
1988
 
733,303
185.7
4.97
0.55
0.49
90.07
1989
 
748,614
189.6
2.09
0.55
0.50
90.22
1990
 
761,396
192.9
1.71
0.55
0.50
90.30
1991
 
784,294
198.7
3.01
0.57
0.50
92.70
1992
 
796,829
201.8
1.60
0.58
0.50
92.72
1993
 
825,122
209.0
3.55
0.59
0.50
93.10
1994
 
856,994
217.1
3.86
0.59
0.51
92.95
1995
 
898,187
227.5
4.81
0.61
0.52
93.99
1996
 
908,725
230.2
1.17
0.60
0.52
92.48
1997
 
922,830
233.7
1.55
0.60
0.52
91.73
1998
 
937,525
237.5
1.59
0.59
0.52
90.99
1999
 
942,297
238.7
0.51
0.58
0.52
90.03
2000
 
964,919
244.4
2.40
0.58
0.53
90.40
2001
 
976,506
247.3
1.20
0.59
0.53
91.78
2002
 
984,383
249.3
0.81
0.60
0.53
92.44
2003
 
1,003,008
254.1
1.89
0.60
0.53
93.40
2004
 
1,027,012
260.1
2.39
0.61
0.54
93.55
2005
 
1,050,201
266.0
2.26
0.61
0.54
93.20
2006
 
1,079,128
273.3
2.75
0.61
0.55
93.31
2007
 
1,103,272
279.5
2.24
0.61
0.55
93.01
2008
 
1,105,330
280.0
0.19
0.62
0.55
93.28
2009
 
1,071,898
271.5
-3.02
0.62
0.53
92.98
2010
 
1,059,918
268.5
-1.12
0.61
0.51
91.85
2011
 
1,064,201
269.6
0.40
0.60
0.51
90.51
2012
 
1,067,145
270.3
0.28
0.60
0.51
89.67
2013
 
1,075,551
272.4
0.79
0.59
0.51
89.12
2014
 
1,083,585
274.5
0.75
0.58
0.52
88.67
2015
 
1,092,272
276.7
0.80
0.57
0.52
88.12
2016
 
1,092,375
276.7
0.01
0.56
0.52
87.25
2017
 
1,095,489
277.5
0.29
0.56
0.52
86.71
2018
 
1,110,587
281.3
1.38
0.55
0.53
86.62
2019
 
1,116,844
282.9
0.56
0.55
0.53
86.68
2020
 
1,069,531
270.9
-4.24
0.55
0.50
85.71
2021
 
1,092,639
276.8
2.16
0.54
0.52
84.53
2022
 
1,139,488
288.6
4.29
0.54
0.54
84.59
Source: Calculations by the New Mexico Regional Economic Analysis Project (NM-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PSN
 
   

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
United States:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
91,053,200
100.0
N
0.45
1970
 
91,277,600
100.2
0.25
0.45
1971
 
91,581,400
100.6
0.33
0.44
1972
 
94,312,200
103.6
2.98
0.45
1973
 
98,427,500
108.1
4.36
0.47
1974
 
100,111,800
109.9
1.71
0.47
1975
 
98,900,600
108.6
-1.21
0.46
1976
 
101,591,200
111.6
2.72
0.47
1977
 
105,042,200
115.4
3.40
0.48
1978
 
109,686,600
120.5
4.42
0.49
1979
 
113,147,100
124.3
3.15
0.50
1980
 
113,983,200
125.2
0.74
0.50
1981
 
114,914,000
126.2
0.82
0.50
1982
 
114,163,300
125.4
-0.65
0.49
1983
 
115,645,700
127.0
1.30
0.49
1984
 
120,528,100
132.4
4.22
0.51
1985
 
123,796,700
136.0
2.71
0.52
1986
 
126,232,300
138.6
1.97
0.53
1987
 
129,548,400
142.3
2.63
0.53
1988
 
133,563,900
146.7
3.10
0.55
1989
 
136,177,800
149.6
1.96
0.55
1990
 
138,330,900
151.9
1.58
0.55
1991
 
137,612,800
151.1
-0.52
0.54
1992
 
138,166,100
151.7
0.40
0.54
1993
 
140,774,400
154.6
1.89
0.54
1994
 
144,196,600
158.4
2.43
0.55
1995
 
147,915,800
162.4
2.58
0.56
1996
 
151,056,200
165.9
2.12
0.56
1997
 
154,541,200
169.7
2.31
0.57
1998
 
158,481,200
174.1
2.55
0.57
1999
 
161,531,300
177.4
1.92
0.58
2000
 
165,370,800
181.6
2.38
0.59
2001
 
165,522,200
181.8
0.09
0.58
2002
 
165,095,100
181.3
-0.26
0.57
2003
 
165,921,500
182.2
0.50
0.57
2004
 
168,839,700
185.4
1.76
0.58
2005
 
172,338,400
189.3
2.07
0.58
2006
 
175,868,600
193.1
2.05
0.59
2007
 
179,543,700
197.2
2.09
0.60
2008
 
179,213,900
196.8
-0.18
0.59
2009
 
173,636,700
190.7
-3.11
0.57
2010
 
172,901,700
189.9
-0.42
0.56
2011
 
176,091,700
193.4
1.84
0.56
2012
 
178,979,700
196.6
1.64
0.57
2013
 
182,328,100
200.2
1.87
0.58
2014
 
186,239,800
204.5
2.15
0.58
2015
 
190,325,800
209.0
2.19
0.59
2016
 
193,425,900
212.4
1.63
0.60
2017
 
196,394,100
215.7
1.53
0.60
2018
 
200,292,200
220.0
1.98
0.61
2019
 
201,635,200
221.4
0.67
0.61
2020
 
195,286,600
214.5
-3.15
0.59
2021
 
202,752,100
222.7
3.82
0.61
2022
 
212,442,000
233.3
4.78
0.64
Source: Calculations by the New Mexico Regional Economic Analysis Project (NM-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PN
 
   
Copyright © 2023. Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Analysis Project (PNREAP). All Rights Reserved.

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