|
 Seats for Forklifts New Mexico - The US state of New Mexico is located in the southwest area of the country. Usually the state of New Mexico is considered one of the mountain states. New Mexico has among the smallest populations of any state with a population density of 16 for each square mile.
The area was occupied by Native American populations for a lot of centuries, before becoming part of Mexico, part of New Spain, and a U.S. territory. New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanics throughout other US states. This group of Hispanics include the recent immigrants from Latin America and descendants of Spanish colonists. It also has the second-highest percentage of Native Americans, after the state of Alaska, and the fifth-highest total number of Native Americans following California, Oklahoma, Texas and Arizona. The tribes within the state comprise mostly Pueblo and Navajo peoples. Thus, the demographics and culture of New Mexico are unique for their strong Hispanic and Native American influences. The flag of New Mexico is represented by the gold and red colors, that represent Spain as well as the Zia symbol, an ancient native American symbol for fun.
The state's economy is heavily dependent upon oil and gas production, tourism, and federal government spending. State government has an elaborate system of tax credits and technical assistance to promote job growth and business investment, specially in new technologies.
During 2010, New Mexico's Gross Domestic Product was $79.7 billion. During the year 2007, the per capita personal income was $31,474, ranking the state 43rd in the United States. During 2005 the percentage of people below the poverty level was 18.4%. The New Mexico Tourism Department estimates that during Fiscal Year 2006 the travel industry within New Mexico generated expenditures of $6.5 billion. As of the month of August 2011, the unemployment rate of New Mexico was 6.6%.
New Mexico is the third leading natural gas and crude oil producer within the United States. The San Juan Basin and the Permian Basin (part of the Mid-Continent Oil Field) lie partly within New Mexico. In 2006 New Mexico accounted for 8.5% of the dry natural gas, 10.2% of the natural gas liquids and 3.4% of the crude oil produced within the US. During the year 2000 the value of oil and gas produced was $8.2 billion.
The military provides many of the federal jobs within the state, since there are three air force bases within the state of New Mexico: Kirtland Air Force Base, Holloman Air Force Base, and Cannon Air Force Base. Also in New Mexico are the White Sands Missile Range, and Fort Bliss: McGregor Range, which is a proving ground and maneuver range. A May 2005 estimate by New Mexico State University is that 11.65% of New Mexico's total employment arises indirectly or directly from military spending. Other federal installations comprise the technology labs of Sandai National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
| |
