
The Southwest Information Office of the U-S Bureau of Labor Statistics Monday released the County Employment and Wages information for New Mexico.
The local average weekly wage for October through December of last year was $631 with 7,241 people employed.
The same period in 2012 showed $634 for an average weekly wage with 7,052 people employed, and that wage was down $2 from the fourth quarter of 2011.
The state average weekly wage was $814 for the fourth quarter of 2013, and the national average weekly wage was $1,000 for the same period.
Statewide, employment in New Mexico fell .1% but average weekly wages rose 1.4% compared to the fourth quarter of 2012.
Luna County was among 12 counties in the state with average weekly wages from $600 to $699.
Ten of the state’s counties had wages averaging $599 per week or less, five reported wages from $700 to $799 per week, two from $800 to $899, and four had wages exceeding $900 per week. Those four counties were Los Alamos at $1,539, Lea at $1,023, Eddy at $1,001 and Santa Fe at $947.
The county with the lowest weekly wage in the state was Catron at $512.
Again, Luna County’s average weekly wage for the fourth quarter of 2013 was $631 – down $3 from the previous year.