Eddy County Wages are above national average.

By ARTESIA DAILY PRESS STAFF Published: 1:46 am, Sun. June 19th, 2016Updated: 1:44 am Average weekly wages in Eddy County are above the national average, according to a study released by the Southwest Information Office of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The study, which outlines national rankings of wage levels, wage growth, and employment changes for the Fourth Quarter 2015 in the 342 largest counties in the United States, primarily focused on New Mexico’s most populous county, Bernalillo, but outlined weekly wage rates in the state’s smaller counties, as well. From December 2014 to December 2015, employment rose 1.2 percent in Bernalillo compared to the national average of 1.9. The average weekly wage in Bernalillo was $904, ranking it 247th among the 342 large counties. Two of New Mexico’s smaller counties had average weekly wages above the national average of $1,082 in the fourth quarter: Los Alamos ($1,610) and Eddy ($1,093). Lea and Santa Fe counties also had an average wage higher than Bernalillo’s at $1,012 and $980 respectively. At the bottom of New Mexico’s counties were Catron and Sierra with respective average wages of $530 and $564.