Report: NM unemployment rate increases to 4.3% in October

New Mexico’s unemployment rate has reached its highest point this year, and the number of jobs added over the past 12 months through October hit the second-slowest pace.

That’s according to the latest jobs report from the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, which shows the unemployment rate for New Mexico was 4.3% in October. The latest unemployment rate for New Mexico is an increase from 4.2% in September — at the time the highest in 2024.

The unemployment rate also ties New Mexico with Ohio for the 37th lowest among all states and the District of Columbia, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. South Dakota, as has been the case in the past, continues to have the lowest rate of unemployment at 1.9%, followed by Vermont at 2.3%. Nevada and Washington D.C. had the highest unemployment rates last month at 5.7%.

Meanwhile, the number of jobs added in New Mexico from October 2023 through last month came in at the second-slowest pace, with some 11,500 jobs added in the public and private sectors. The slowest pace came in April when the state added 9,100 jobs from the previous year, according to NMDWS data.

But the number of employed workers remains strong in New Mexico, with 936,996 employed people last month — the highest in at least a decade, according to BLS data.

Most of New Mexico’s job growth came in the private sector, according to the jobs report, which added 9,000 jobs. The largest gains came in the private service-providing industries, which added 6,400 jobs. Of the private service-providing industries, education and health services added 3,000 jobs and leisure and hospitality added 2,700 jobs. Another 2,600 jobs were added in goods-producing industries.

The public sector — federal, state and local government work — added 2,500 jobs, according to the jobs report. State government accounted for 1,200 of those jobs, while local governments added 1,300 positions.

County-by-county non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rates show Bernalillo County’s rate last month was 4.1%, up from 3.9% in September. Santa Fe County also had 4.1% unemployment and Los Alamos County, home of Los Alamos National Laboratory, had the lowest rate at 2.4%. Doña Ana County had an unemployment rate of 4.7% in October, data shows.

New Mexico’s labor force participation rate was at 57.6% last month, according to BLS. The number measures all employed and unemployed workers divided against the state’s civilian population.