New Mexico unemployment rate reaches new high this year

New Mexico’s unemployment rate has reached its highest point this year and job growth has cooled.

That’s according to a New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions report, which shows last month’s unemployment rate in New Mexico stood at 4.1%.

The report said 12,500 jobs were added between August 2023 and last month, the second-lowest gain this year. In April, the state added 9,100 jobs over the previous year — the lowest reported in 2024 — while the highest growth was the 19,200 jobs added between July 2023 and July 2024.

The August unemployment rate marks the third month this year the percentage of jobless workers has either been at 4% or above. In January and July, the unemployment rate was 4%, according to the DWS jobs report released this month.

The hike comes as the national unemployment rate has hovered around 4% since May with last month’s rate standing at 4.2% — a decrease from 4.3% in July, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows.

It also comes as the nation has seen some cooling in hiring with some 142,000 jobs added across the U.S. last month — lower than what some economists expected.

In Bernalillo County, the non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate — which tends to measure actual employment conditions without any adjustment for seasonal patterns — dropped to 4.2% in August. In July, that rate stood at 4.9%. which was the highest of the year.

Previous unemployment rates for Bernalillo County, according to DWS, stood at 4.4% in June, 3.6% in May, 3% in April, 2.8% in March, 3.4% in February and 3.7% in January.

Of New Mexico’s other counties, Luna County has the highest unemployment rate at 8.8% — a decrease from 10.2% in July, according to DWS.

Los Alamos, on the other hand, continues to have the lowest unemployment rate at 2.4%; that’s a decrease from 3.1% in July.

In New Mexico, the largest gains came in the private sector, which added 9,700 jobs year over year. The public sector — think government jobs — added 2,800 jobs, according to DWS.

Large gains in the private sector include professional and business services industries, which added some 3,000 jobs, and education and health services, which added 2,300 jobs. Leisure and hospitality added 1,300 jobs.

In the public sector, state government added 2,000 jobs through August, local government added 700 jobs and the federal government added 100.

New Mexico’s unemployment rate last month also ranks relatively high compared to other states, coming in tied at 34 with Texas at 4.1%. Neighboring Arizona has an unemployment rate of 3.4%, the 22nd-lowest, while Colorado’s rate was slightly lower at 4%.

The state with the lowest unemployment rate was South Dakota at 2%. The highest unemployment rate came from the District of Columbia, which clocked in at 5.7%.