New Report: 55,000 New Jobs in New Mexico Can Be Created If Robust Federal Economic Recovery and Infrastructure Package Passes

Analysis Shows Recovery Package Modeled on THRIVE Agenda Would Provide Major Opportunities in Clean Energy and Climate Jobs As Well As Care Economy


Albuquerque, NM—A new analysis released today shows that a robust economic recovery package that prioritizes investments in clean energy and climate solutions as well as care infrastructure could be a huge boost to New Mexico, generating more than 50,000 jobs in the state.

The analysis  Job Creation Estimates for New Mexico through US THRIVE Agenda, conducted by experts at the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts and released today by Nuevo Mexico Prospera comes on the heels of Congress passing a $1.9 trillion covid relief package. The analysis shows the additional job creation that would occur if Congress uses the THRIVE Agenda as the basis of a subsequent recovery, rebuilding, and infrastructure package, making $1 trillion per year of investments in climate solutions and care infrastructure and prioritizing racial and economic justice in the process. This would be a larger, more ambitious proposal than what President Biden has thus far proposed.

The analysis finds NM has the opportunity for:

  • 17,360 infrastructure jobs
  • 9,100 clean energy jobs
  • 15,700 agriculture and land restoration jobs
  • 12,600 care economy, public health, and postal service jobs

Local organizers are planning to point to this job creation opportunity for NM during a Nuevo Mexico Prospera THRIVE Rally being organized March 31 to push members of Congress to pass a transformational economic recovery package.

“This shows the huge opportunity for job creation in NM if Congress goes big with an economic recovery package that prioritizes climate and care jobs and racial and economic justice,” said Eric Griego, State Director of the NM Working Families Party, one of the co-anchors of the initiative.

“By investing in wind and solar power, building retrofits and energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture and more, as well as the care economy, we can help lift our economy out of the hole created by the pandemic, while addressing urgent crises like climate change and racial injustice,” said Oriana Sandoval, CEO of the Center for Civic Policy.

“Our analysis uses existing job creation data to model what new investments in these sectors of the economy can be expected to produce, and the findings are clear: there is a huge opportunity for creation of good jobs in the climate and care sectors if Congress goes big on infrastructure, but it will require going further than what President Biden has thus far proposed—investments of $1 trillion per year,” said Robert Pollen of the Political Economy Research Institute at U-Mass.

The report on the job creation opportunity for New Mexico and nationally can be found at: 

PERI – State-Level Employment Impacts of Proposed National THRIVE Agenda

For more information on the March 31 Time to Thrive Day of Action as well as all of the grassroots activity taking place during the congressional recess, visit https://timetothrive.org.  

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, March 26, 2021

CONTACT:

Isaac De Luna | 505.917.5501 | isaac@civicpolicy.com

Eric Griego | 505.259.7600 | egriego@workingfamilies.org