New Mexico has the highest unemployment rate of any state in the nation according to the latest federal numbers.
New Mexico is still seeing job growth, but it isn’t enough to match the demand from those out of work according to November numbers for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Between October and November, New Mexico added 3,900 jobs.
The numbers were released this week and showed that New Mexico has an unemployment rate of 6.8 percent. The national average is 5.0 percent. The BLS says that New Mexico is the only state to see a significant increase in the unemployment rate in the last year.
While the state saw growth in the construction, government, leisure and other industries since last November, the amount of employees in trade, transportation and utilities industry, the construction industry and the manufacturing industry all fell.
The number of unemployed New Mexicans in the labor force grew since last November, from 55,900 to 62,000. The civilian labor force in November was 916,600 and is now 914,700.
The lowest rates came in states in the Great Plains, with 2.7 percent unemployment in North Dakota and 2.9 percent unemployment in Nebraska.
The unemployment numbers report the amount of people without jobs who are still in the job market and looking for employment.
