Billions in stimulus money saved thousands of jobs

December 24, 2010

we're seeing mixed news about new mexico's job situation. numbers out today show unemployment is on the rise... at the same time, we're getting a report praising the federal stimulus plan for keeping thousands of new mexicans working. the department of workforce solutions say the jobless rate hit eight and a half percent in november. that's up a tenth of a point from october. officials say the state has lost 44-hundred jobs over the past year in sectors like professional and business services, retail, and construction. meanwhile, there's also a report out today that claims without billions in stimulus dollars- the economic recession in new mexico could have been catastrophic. but with the good news, comes a warning. gadi schwartz is live in santa fe with our big story. unemployment in new mexico is up to 8.5 percent- meaning thousands are still out of work this holiday season. but a new report done by unm - shows without billions in stimulus money- things could have been a lot worse. the report shows that the stimulus money supported about 24,000 jobs last year and could support 23,000 thousand jobs through next july. economic models calculate the bailout money has translated into about 2 billion dollars in salaries and benefits alone for jobs in things like construction - clean energy and education. but now that the stimulus is dryingp -former governor toney anaya, who manages new mexico's stimulus funds - has words of warning for areas that have been saved from cuts- like schools. "and maybe the harsh realities have not hit them yet and i just hope we don't go through some serious turmoil in the education community over the next couple years. to put it in perspective -new mexico has been effectively propped up by about 5.7 billion in stimulus dollars since the recession hit- that's a little more than the state's budget for 1 year.- and keep in mind education makes up more than half of that budget. former governor anaya says there are still about 650 million dollars of stimulus funds making their way to the state. but most of those could be gone by next summer... and thats when lawmakers will finally have to answer the question they have been asking for almost 2 years. what happens when the stimulus money runs out