SANTA FE – New Mexico is again showing gains when it comes to job growth.
State labor officials say that between May 2012 and last month, the state gained 7,800 jobs, representing a 1 percent increase. New Mexico also recorded a 1 percent increase in over-the-year job growth in April.
It has been five years since the state’s employment growth was at or exceeded 1 percent, and the Department of Workforce Solutions said the state’s economy “may be gathering momentum.”
State officials say the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.7 percent in May, down from 7 percent last May.
The survey shows nine industries added employment over the year, while four industries lost jobs.
The largest gains continue to be reported by the leisure and hospitality industry, which added 3,000 jobs over the year.
Australian BASE jumper dies in southern Utah
HANKSVILLE, Utah – A 35-year-old Australian man has died in a recreational accident in southern Utah.
Wayne County Sheriff’s deputies say the man fell about 600 feet to his death from a cliff Friday near Hanksville while BASE jumping, which involves leaping from a fixed object with a parachute.
The cause of the fatal fall was not immediately known. The victim had been jumping near the Angel’s Point Trail when the accident occurred.
The victim’s name was not released.
A Utah Highway Patrol helicopter assisted in recovering the man’s body and transporting it to the medical examiner’s office.
Earlier this year, the high-risk sport of swinging wildly on ropes through canyon and arch openings in southern Utah left two men dead.
Associated Press