the outlook is even bleaker tonight for new mexico's unemployed. ne local expert says it may take years for the state's unemployment rate to get back to where it was before the recession. kayla anderson spent the day lookininto it and is here with the details. new mexico's unemployment rate is now 8-point-1 percent ... up from 3-point-7 percent in early 2008. getting back to where we were before may take longer than most people could guess-- and certainly longer than most people hope. a plea to end the recession... may go unanswered. "please let it be over. we need jobs here in new mexico." unm's bureau of business and economic research has new data that shows the state's unemployment rate may not return to pre-recession numbers for anotr six years. "we are 49th among the states in terms of job growth. we've been at the bottom of minute thumbnail 06:15 pm the pack." it's taking longer for new mexico to pull out of the recession, compared to other states. there are many reasons to blame... but two big ones stand out. first-- government hiring is slow because of funding crunches. and construction took a major hit as well... so men are expected to feel the impact more than women. "the construction industry, we simply do not think will come back. they lost over 15,000 jobs." lawrence garland is a perfect example. he's been looking for a construction job for a year. "my problem is that i'm pretty specialized and so it's even more difficult." but it's not all bad news. retail, manufacturing and leisure and hospitality industries are growing. we learned customer care provider sitel' is now hiring 120 positions to support its satellite tv and hotel chain clients. we spread the word-- and hopefully the hope. "i think i may have a chance at minute thumbnail 06:16 pm getting a jo i hope." we're not alone in this fight. it's expected to take the rest of the countryix years as well-- to get back to a pre- recession unemployment rate. back to you.
