When we say City Alive is a “collective impact initiative” - how do we quantify “impact”? As each of our leadership and community partners work toward more economic prosperity for Albuquerque, one of the best measures we have to gauge progress is economic statistics. Job growth, weekly wage and unemployment numbers are reliable indicators of economic health. These metrics give a better understanding of how efforts to startup and scale up homegrown business are affecting the overall health of our city.

Job growth is particularly important for its cascade effect: hiring new workers infuses the market with more disposable income, which in turn generates additional demand for products to drive more economic growth. For City Alive, it’s not enough to grow. We want to create growth that is racially equitable by supporting local minority entrepreneurs and innovators.

The most recent numbers are in, so how are we doing?

Job Growth:
Albuquerque’s job growth continues to climb, outpacing our regional peers. This quarter’s growth was higher than the national average of 1.6% and highest in our region, with the exception of Colorado Springs, which grew 4.1%. Both private sector and government sectors added jobs in August, adding 5,600 and 2,300 jobs respectively.

Weekly Wage:
Our goal is not only to create more jobs, but to create higher paying jobs. That way more income reaches each household in Albuquerque. We still have work to do, but if weekly wages continue to improve at this rate, we’ll soon be more competitive on the national stage.

Unemployment:
Our unemployment rate is still above the national average of 4.1%. However, the continued downward trend from 7.4% unemployment in 2012 to 4.8% in 2018 is an encouraging signal that our local economy is growing steadily.

Connect the dots:

City Alive is a partnership of community leaders and organizations committed to supporting homegrown entrepreneurs and innovators. See the initiative’s goals and more performance data here: https://cityalive.org/performance-data/