Spotlight New Mexico—employment changes across the state

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Mary’s Map

2003-June
Text Box: Albuquerque- Qwest Communications plans to hire 186 customer assistance agents for its downtown Albuquerque office. Starting wages for an entry-level position is $8.00 per hour at hiring and $10.65 after one year on the job. Bilingual agents receive $1.00 per hour more. The 227 airport screeners employed by the Transportation Security Administration at the Albuquerque International Sunport will remain on the job despite cuts to the TSA. The state's 19th Wal-Mart Supercenter opened in Albuquerque in April. The store is open 24 hours a day and employs about 500 workers. The !25 Business Park continues to attract new tenants. Radiology Associates of Albuquerque is combining three of its operations in a single location in part of the old Furrs supermarket headquarters at !25. More than 100 workers will be employed by RAA. The first Fallas-Paredes discount clothing store opened in the Coors-Central shopping center on Albuquerque’s West Side. The store is part of a chain of 63 stores and employs 34 Text Box: Clovis- Closure of the railroad crossing at Wheaton Road was recently approved by the Curry County Commission to make room for the proposed $15 million expansion of the Clovis area facilities used by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. The railroad and the commission are negotiating the terms of the contract for the expansion, which is likely to bring about 80 to 100 new jobs to Clovis. A 135,000-square-foot Lowe’s Home Center is under construction on the corner of Llano Estacado and Price streets in Clovis. The store is expected to open in late September and will Text Box: Silver City- Stream International announced that it will close its Silver City call center in July. At one time, the company employed about 600 workers and had received a number of financial incentives to locate in Silver City. The New Mexico Department of Labor has deployed a rapid response team to assist the community in coping with the closure. On a positive note, Phelps-Dodge, a large mining company, has announced that it would rehire 50 to 100 workers for operations in Grant County. Text Box: Lovington- An asphalt plant is being built three miles south of Lovington. When completed the plant will employ about 20 Text Box: Espanola- Rio Grande Forest Products plans to close its Espanola sawmill on June 7. The mill has provided direct employment for over 85 workers and indirect employment for a large number of subcontractors who supplied trucking and logging services. Text Box: Questa- Molycorp will hire or rehire 26 miners to work at the molybdenum mine near Questa. The company, a subsidiary of California-based Unocal, noted that improved market conditions have prompted the need for miners. Molycorp laid off 28 workers in January.

Employment Stats

Locale

Employment

Change

NM

92.4%

 

Albuquerque

93.3%

 

Santa Fe

95.9%

 

Las Cruces

91.3%