Ever wonder what city and county government, the chamber and other agencies are doing to get more businesses to come here?
For one thing, they all pledge to work together to bring good-paying jobs to Santa Fe and the county.
In fact, the city’s Economic Development Division promises to visit about 50 businesses a year.
Still, it’s bleak out there.
Since September 2008, Santa Fe County has lost 2,700 jobs, according to the state Department of Workforce Solutions. From October 2008 to October 2009, unemployment shot up from 4 percent to 6.9 percent, Workforce Solutions figures show.
The Santa Fe area lost 800 jobs in September and 100 more in October as the tourist season moved past its peak, and summer youth programs ended for the year.
Leisure and hospitality employment fell by 300 from its August level, with fewer jobs at area hotels and places like the Santa Fe Opera, a chamber report said.
Santa Fe County’s economy relies heavily on tourism, and it is struggling.
According to the 2006 Economic Impact Report on Tourism for New Mexico, there are 7,000 people working in the tourism industry in Santa Fe County.
That study has not been updated, said Keith Toler, director of the city’s convention and tourism bureau. But, in looking at the latest Industry Performance Indicators from the U.S. Travel Association for September 2009, employment is down 5.8 percent in the airline industry, 7.6 percent in hotels and motels and 0.9 percent in restaurants.
Santa Fe tends to follow closely with the national results, Toler said.
As for pay, people in the tourism industry earn anywhere from minimum wage to the low- to mid- six figures, he said.
According to the 2006 study, the payroll for the tourism industry statewide is about $109 million annually.
“The Santa Fe job market has been weak for about two years, but the recent data are especially disappointing,” said Simon Brackley, head of the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce. “Previously, job growth had alternated between positive and negative territory, mostly staying close to the zero line. Employment totals have, however, taken a sharp turn for the worse since the start of the year.”
Because of the weakening local job market, the city of Santa Fe focuses primarily on retaining the jobs that already exist, said Kate Noble, the city’s economic development specialist.
In its July 2009 report — the most recent data available — the city’s Economic Development Division said it helped local businesses create or retain 226 jobs in 2008.
By its own governing principles, the city engages in passive recruitment, Noble said. That means staff responds to inquiries from businesses considering moving to Santa Fe area but does not actively market businesses to move here.
“Having said that, we do keep an active eye out for clean tech companies (and good companies in other categories) that might be a good fit for the Santa Fe area,” Noble said. “The city welcomes companies that are looking at locating their business in Santa Fe.”
Toward that end, she said, the city offers location help to firms and helps them find real estate, provides them information on the labor force, schools, quality of life, access to utilities and more, she said.
If a project qualifies under the State Local Economic Development Act, the local government can provide direct assistance — for example, money and infrastructure — to the project, said Duncan Sill, economic development specialist for the county.
The county also works with the state on tax credits, industrial revenue bonds, gross receipts and real state tax exemptions.
Another group, the Santa Fe-based Regional Economic Development Corporation, says it is developing strategies for the technology, green, entertainment and digital media as well as value-added agriculture sectors.
In a response to a request for information, Ed Burckle, executive director of the RDC, wrote to the New Mexico Free Press: “The prolonged economic downturn makes results-oriented job creation ... efforts as important as ever to our community.”
The agency hopes to create 50-100 new jobs per year for the next 20 years but did not provide numbers to indicate whether it was succeeding in creating jobs.
Brackley said jobs are the most important issue in the community.
“Almost every other social issue — crime, dropout rate, teenage pregnancy, alcohol/drug abuse, domestic violence, etc. are made worse by high unemployment,” Brackley said.
Brackley says the chamber works hard to get jobs here.
He cited lobbying efforts for many things: the College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe Studios, the Drury Inn, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Hyatt Place, the expansion of Wal-Mart, American Eagle airline service and increased state tourism and economic development funding.
He also said the chamber works with the city and county to support local government job creation initiatives.
No one seems to be able to define specifically how many jobs they have helped bring to Santa Fe County.
Recently, though, Santa Fe Studios received a $6 million loan from Santa Fe County, along with $10 million in state tax incentives, to buy land and build a movie studio off N.M. 14 south of the city. Brackley said jobs brought by the studios should all pay $15 per hour or more.
Santa Fe Studios agreed recently to buy 65 acres of land from the county and build a film production facility. The studio agreed to train film students and to provide up to 500 high-wage jobs, Sill said.
In return, the county agreed to pay for $3.5 million worth of infrastructure improvements to the property.
In addition to Santa Fe Studios, Sill said the county is working with Bicycle Technologies International to generate 40 jobs.
A conventional approach to economic development won’t work here, Sill said, because that would put the focus on economic growth often at the expense of the local environment and community.
Much work remains to get good-paying jobs here, Brackley said.
“I would like to see a greater commitment from local government for business support and recruitment, but there are a lot of factors at work: educated workforce, land costs, incentives, access to market, competition,” Brackley said.
“This is not a simple issue. Recruitment is very expensive, even in a strong economy.”
Santa Fe Mayor David Coss summed up the city’s economic development approach this way: “We want to be a creative center with high-wage jobs, a strong and vibrant middle class, vibrant youth culture, leadership in sustainability and environmental technologies and efficiencies as well as arts, science and culture.”
Contact Brad Buck at (505) 629-4408 or
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