WNMU hosted 25th annual Economic Development Conference

SILVER CITY, N.M. – At the conclusion of Western New Mexico University’s 25th annual basic rural economic development course, students presented prescriptive economic development strategies for three New Mexico communities – Doña Ana, Sierra and San Juan counties – to three of the top economic development minds in the state, who were hypothetically seeking to underwrite the implementation of these plans.

Using real data, the students assessed each communities’ strengths, needs and estimated what it would take to bring the necessary number of jobs to completely wipe out unemployment and boost the economy overall in their respective communities. Their presentations are archived here.

The group assigned to assess Doña Ana County wrote a jobs-focused plan to enhance and strengthen the economy over ten years. They guessed the county would need to add 14,115 jobs to sustain growth in a decade and assessed that the county will likely get a majority of those jobs from the employer theater and through SoloWorks, a new economic development approach centered on remote workers and solopreneurs.

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