Labor statistics show uptick in unemployment

Unemployment is on the rise in the state, according to recently released numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

New Mexico’s seasonally adjusted unemployment was 3.9% in February compared with 3.6% in 2023. It coincides with the national unemployment rate that rose from 3.6% in February 2023 to 3.9% in February 2024.

New Mexico was tied for the 16th highest unemployment rate in the country with Michigan, Rhode Island and Texas, according to the New Mexico Labor Market Review.

Sarita Nair, Cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, said the uptick in the statistics is not necessarily a bad thing.

“When the unemployment rate goes up, it could mean that more people are entering the labor force and looking for a job,” Nair explained. “So if you go from ‘I’m not looking for a job’ to ‘I have a job,’ you never show up in the unemployment numbers. But, if like most people, you go from ‘I’m not looking for a job’ to ‘I’m looking for a job,’ you sit in that unemployment category until you find a job.”

Labor force participation rates have “more or less” been going up since September 2022. The rise of labor force participation combined with job numbers going up is a good thing for the state.

“It means people are entering the labor force,” Nair said. “ New Mexico has the second lowest labor force participation rate in the country. And so, you know, we really need people. I like to refer to it as the field, the bench, and the stands. And so the stands are the people who are not in the labor force at all. We really need people from the stands to come on down to the field. And if they spend a little time on the bench, the unemployment category, on the way there, that’s OK. That’s actually positive movement for our state.”

According to the BLS statistics, nonagricultural employment grew by 13,700 jobs, or 1.6%, between February of last year and this year. The majority of gains came from the private sector which was up .9% with 6,300 jobs. The public sector was also up 4% with 7,400 jobs.

Another rise in jobs was seen in the goods-producing industries, mining, and construction, which rose by 3.1%.

Goods producing industries, mining, and construction employment increased by 3.1% with 2,300 jobs. The majority of gains were within the construction industry, which was up 1,900 jobs over the year. Mining employment grew by 400 jobs, and manufacturing was up 500 jobs.

“You can see that construction bump, the employment rate rising by 2,300 jobs,” Nair said. “I think it is really noticeable and it’s probably the beginning of a pretty enduring trend because of all the federal money coming in for construction.”

Sair said Workforce Solutions has prioritized the construction sector for recruitment and training.

“There’s all kinds of really exciting things going on in the state around apprenticeship and so forth,” Nair said. “I think that’s a trend that’s really worth watching.”

Many people are unaware the mining sector includes oil and gas, which makes a difference in the numbers.

“I always get the question, ‘Why is mining going up when the coal mines are closing down?’” Sair said. “And that’s the reason for that.”

In the private service-providing industries, professional and business services, employment increased by 2.7% with 3,200 additional jobs. Trade, transportation, and utilities was up 200 jobs, and retail trade was up 1,300 jobs. However, within the industry, wholesale trade was down 200 jobs, and leisure and hospitality was down 900 jobs. Employment in financial activities remain unchanged from last year.

In the public sector, local government was up 3.9% with 3,900 jobs, employment in state government was up 5% with 3,100 new jobs, and federal government was up 1.4% with 400 new jobs.

The most noticeable drop in jobs was in the information sector with a 19.3% decrease and the loss of 2,100 jobs. The information sector includes industries that distribute information such as data communications, processing data, film, media, and broadcast industries.

“Movies are a large part of that industry,” Sair said. “It is possible that (there are) still sort of ripple effects from the strike over the summer. But, there weren’t any major closures or mass layoffs that are related to that one.”

Netflix is filming a new series, “Ransom Canyon” in and around Albuquerque and Las Vegas through June 2024. The production employs 380 New Mexico crew members, 40 local actors, and about 300 background performers, according to the New Mexico Labor Market Review.

Also, the third season of “The Cleaning Lady” has begun filming in the Albuquerque area. The production will employ 256 New Mexico crew members and about 2,384 local background performers, according to the review.

Unemployment rates around the state mostly remained between 3.2% and 4.3%. Bernalillo County came in at 3.4% with surrounding counties Sandoval at 3.6%, Santa Fe at 3.2%, Valencia at 4.0%, and Los Alamos at 1.8%.

The highest unemployment rate was in Luna County, which came in at 13.5%, according to New Mexico Labor Market Review. Sierra County followed at 7.1%.

“Bizarrely, Luna has always been an outlier as far back as we’ve looked at the numbers,” Sair said. “ At their height of the pandemic and height of the 2009 recession, they hit close to 20% unemployment. And we really don’t know why. These are seasonally adjusted numbers so it shouldn’t be the agricultural sector that obviously has ebbs and flows in employment.”

Sair recently participated in an employer roundtable in Deming and asked what was happening with the unemployment rate in Luna County.

“They really didn’t feel like anybody understood that either,” she said. “We do have a really good Deming office (with) the Workforce Connection Center. We’ve had really robust participation in the pre-apprenticeship program down there. So all we can do is just keep doing that outreach because those businesses are hurting for workers, yet their unemployment rate is like this huge outlier. So it’s something we’re digging into on the ground, because the numbers just aren’t telling us the story.”