At least 403 Rio Arribans — roughly 1 percent of the County’s population — have lost their jobs over the past year, according to state and federal Labor Department data.
Topping the list of industries cutting staff are construction, retail, government, health care and social services, and hotels and restaurants, Susan Reagan, an analyst for the state Labor Department said.
“But really, your job losses up there are pretty much all over the place,” Reagan said.
Citing federal confidentiality laws — the Department gathers job data from tax documents — Reagan declined to name specific employers who have laid off employees.
“Only six employers in Rio Arriba are in the double digits for layoffs,” Reagan said. “Mostly it’s a lot of little layoffs, in ones or twos, as businesses are contracting due to the economy.”
Losses over the past year place Rio Arriba’s unemployment rate at 6.3 percent, just higher than the 6 percent jobless rate for the state and more than a full percentage point above Santa Fe, according to March data, the most recent available from the state Labor Department.
Rio Arriba’s unemployment rate stayed more or less steady — just a notch over 5 percent — during most of 2008. It spiked to 6 percent in January and rose by 0.3 percent again in February. It has held steady since.
However, while data shows Rio Arriba’s jobless rate has historically been higher than rates statewide and in surrounding counties, unemployment here is climbing slower than throughout the state. Both the statewide rate and Santa Fe’s have risen by about 2 percent, twice as much as in the County, over the past year.
Employers in the fields Reagan mentioned corroborated those numbers.
“Projects are slim and competition is tough,” said Ricardo Cordova, the owner of Española-based construction company Blue Sky Builders. “The bigger contractors are basically giving projects away just to have work on their books, and we’re having to tighten our belts.”
Blue Sky laid off up to eight employees in November, about 10 percent of its workforce, Cordova said.
Española Hospital has not laid off any employees so far due to the economy but has cut paramedics overtime, spokesman Todd Sandman said. The Hospital’s parent company, Presbyterian Health, has trimmed its workforce by about 450 employees, but “the vast majority” has been by attrition.
“In the specific cases where we needed to eliminate a position someone was in, we have offered those employees other needed positions in the organization,” Sandman said.
Among the five casinos in the state whose “net wins” — the amount spent by customers minus prizes paid out — that have dropped the most between the first quarters of 2008 and 2009, four are in Rio Arriba and northern Santa Fe Counties.
The average drop in net wins among tribes was 4.65 percent during that period. Net wins for the Jicarilla Apache Tribe and Santa Clara, Okhay Owingeh and Tesuque pueblos have all declined by 17 percent or more (see box).
Ron Lovato, chief executive officer of Okhay Casino’s parent company, said the casino has so far avoided layoffs, though it has cut certain employees’ hours. His casino’s net wins for the first quarter of 2009 are almost $1 million lower than the same period last year.
Representatives for Santa Clara Pueblo and the Jicarilla Apache Nation could not be reached for comment. Their net wins have dropped by $1.44 million and $370,000 since last year, respectively.