Counties with the highest unemployment in New Mexico
Counties with the highest unemployment in New Mexico
Unemployment rates have continued to rise across U.S. metropolitan areas, provoking alarm throughout the nation and guiding the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates last month.
As of August, unemployment rates had increased from the previous year in 315 out of 389 U.S. metros areas—including 45 of the 51 largest metros, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
To get a glimpse of regional variations in employment, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in New Mexico, using BLS data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in August 2024, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.
The national unemployment rate remains relatively low at 4.1% in September, down slightly from the previous month. Still, it's up substantially from 3.8% during the same month last year and remains higher than it had otherwise been since December 2021. By comparison, unemployment rates surged to 10% in October 2009 during the Great Recession, and a full recovery took years. At the height of the brief COVID-19 recession in April 2020, unemployment hit 14.7%.
The Federal Reserve has shifted its focus from curbing inflation to unemployment, cutting interest rates to alleviate economic strain and spur job growth.
Since last year, unemployment has spiked in half of states—a signal often indicating a looming recession, as Piper Sandler Chief Global Economist Nancy Lazar told Business Insider. These jobless rates, paired with layoffs among major U.S. employers like Google and Tesla, have sparked concern among Americans. Minus a major economic blow, economists continue to forecast that the U.S. is tracking toward an incremental slowdown in growth known as a "soft landing." The Fed plans to continue cutting rates to achieve this.
To get a better idea of your community's current economy, read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in New Mexico.
#33. Los Alamos County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,692 people (283 unemployed)
#32. Eddy County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.2%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 34,774 people (1,116 unemployed)
#31. Union County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,522 people (52 unemployed)
#30. Curry County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 22,065 people (789 unemployed)
#29. De Baca County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 726 people (27 unemployed)
#28. Guadalupe County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,802 people (68 unemployed)
#27. Grant County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,386 people (466 unemployed)
#26. Harding County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 281 people (11 unemployed)
#25. Colfax County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,730 people (222 unemployed)
#24. Rio Arriba County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.0%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,968 people (673 unemployed)
#23. Santa Fe County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.0%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 74,316 people (3,003 unemployed)
#22. Roosevelt County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 8,630 people (356 unemployed)
#21. Lea County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.2%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 31,001 people (1,298 unemployed)
#20. Bernalillo County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.2%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 347,363 people (14,665 unemployed)
#19. Mora County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,100 people (91 unemployed)
#18. Otero County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 26,177 people (1,168 unemployed)
#17. Sandoval County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 70,192 people (3,165 unemployed)
#16. Hidalgo County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,591 people (75 unemployed)
#15. Chaves County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 26,807 people (1,271 unemployed)
#14. Dona Ana County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 102,798 people (4,911 unemployed)
#13. Valencia County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 31,865 people (1,550 unemployed)
#12. San Miguel County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.0%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 11,327 people (567 unemployed)
#11. Quay County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,841 people (146 unemployed)
#10. Socorro County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,125 people (311 unemployed)
#9. Taos County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 14,156 people (729 unemployed)
#8. San Juan County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 48,919 people (2,471 unemployed)
#7. Catron County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,139 people (60 unemployed)
#6. Lincoln County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 2.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,720 people (490 unemployed)
#5. McKinley County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 23,904 people (1,414 unemployed)
#4. Sierra County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.0%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,891 people (232 unemployed)
#3. Torrance County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,566 people (337 unemployed)
#2. Cibola County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.2%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,595 people (533 unemployed)
#1. Luna County
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.8%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,774 people (951 unemployed)
This story features data reporting and writing by Paxtyn Merten and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.