New Mexico added 5,500 payroll jobs in August, one of only four states with a statistically significant monthly increase, while the unemployment rate edged down to 4.7%. The gain lifted statewide nonfarm employment to a preliminary 907,400 jobs and extended a year of comparatively strong growth.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported September 18 that New Mexico’s 0.6% monthly increase was the largest percentage gain among states. California, South Carolina and Wisconsin were the other states with significant payroll increases; employment was statistically unchanged in the remaining 46 states and the District of Columbia.
Over the year, New Mexico added 14,500 jobs, a 1.6% increase from August 2025. That tied Louisiana and South Carolina for the nation’s fastest percentage growth and placed New Mexico among just eight states with statistically significant year-over-year payroll gains. The result is notable because national payroll growth has been modest and most states did not record a measurable annual change.
The state’s detailed BLS profile shows that education and health services remained New Mexico’s largest private employment sector at 157,800 jobs, up 2.6% from a year earlier. Trade, transportation and utilities employed 150,900 people and grew 2.8%. Construction reached 57,600 jobs, up 4.7% over the year, while mining and logging rose 5.6% to 26,500.
Growth was not uniform. Information-sector employment fell 8.2% from August 2025, professional and business services declined 0.8%, and other services slipped 0.7%. Leisure and hospitality was nearly flat, increasing 0.2%. Government employment, which accounts for more than one-fifth of statewide payrolls, rose 1.8% to 195,300 jobs.
The household survey told a slightly different story. New Mexico’s civilian labor force declined by about 1,000 people in August to 969,800, while the number of employed residents fell by roughly 600 to 924,100. Unemployment dropped by about 500 to 45,700, producing the lower 4.7% rate. Payroll and household figures can move in different directions because they come from separate surveys and measure jobs by workplace versus workers by residence.
New Mexico’s jobless rate remained above the 4.1% national rate and tied Delaware, Illinois and Kentucky for 40th in the BLS state ranking. The rate was unchanged from August 2025 even as payroll employment expanded, indicating that job creation has not yet pushed unemployment below its year-earlier level.
For job seekers, the strongest annual momentum was concentrated in mining, construction, trade-related industries, education and health services, and government. Employers and policymakers should still treat the August estimates as preliminary: monthly state data are revised as additional survey responses and administrative records become available.
The next statewide employment report, covering September, is scheduled for October 20. It will show whether August’s unusually broad payroll gain continued and whether the labor force stabilized after five consecutive monthly declines shown in the current federal series.
