Working overtime: New Mexico ranks 7th in job growth, but jobless rate climbs, too

By Kevin Hendricks — New Mexico employers added 11,200 jobs over the past year, outpacing all but six states. But the help-wanted signs didn’t shrink the line of job seekers. The state’s unemployment rate climbed to 4.7 percent in September.

New Mexico’s 1.3 percent year-over-year job growth ranks 7th nationally and runs more than four times the national rate of 0.3 percent, according to September Bureau of Labor Statistics figures the Governor’s Office released Friday.

New Mexico’s construction industry added 2,800 jobs over the past year, a 5.1 percent jump, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures. Photo by Roberto E. Rosales for the Paper

“New Mexico is charging straight into those headwinds, and we’re gaining ground,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said.

Hard hats and scrubs did the heavy lifting. Health care and social assistance added 3,700 jobs, construction added 2,800 and mining added 1,400. Private employers added 8,400 jobs overall.

Local governments hired 4,200 workers, including 2,700 in schools. That cushioned a 2,000-job drop in federal employment, a 7 percent cut in one year.

“These numbers show that our efforts to diversify New Mexico’s economy are working,” Workforce Solutions Secretary Sarita Nair said.

The paychecks tell a less rosy story. The state’s 4.7 percent jobless rate sits well above the 4.1 percent New Mexico posted in September 2025. In July, the state’s unemployment rate topped the national rate, economists told legislators in August.

And New Mexico workers still earn less than most. The state ranked 46th in the nation for average weekly wages in early 2026, at $1,235, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

BY THE NUMBERS

• 11,200: jobs New Mexico added, September 2025 to September 2026
• 1.3%: New Mexico’s job growth rate (U.S.: 0.3%)
• Neighboring states: Utah 1.4%, Texas 1.1%, Arizona 0.7%, Oklahoma 0.7%, Colorado 0.5%
• 4.7%: New Mexico’s September unemployment rate (Sept. 2025: 4.1%)
• -2,000: federal jobs lost in New Mexico
• 46th: New Mexico’s national rank in average weekly wages

Looking for work or want the full numbers?

• Job search and unemployment help: NM Department of Workforce Solutions, dws.state.nm.us
• Monthly state jobs data: Bureau of Labor Statistics, bls.gov/sae