Counties with the highest unemployment in New Mexico
The first jobs report fully under the new Trump administration showed a softening job market, with the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.1% in February, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures released March 7.
Job growth increased but fell below expectations, one of several possible fissures appearing in the once rock-solid labor market. Businesses are pulling back on hiring as the economic forecast and policy outlook grow murkier due to volatile trade policies and large cuts to the federal workforce.
Federal government employment fell by 10,000 in February, pushing up total cuts to the federal workforce. In the first two months of 2025, 62,530 federal workers were let go. However, the most recent cuts, including the Department of Education's workforce getting slashed by nearly half, have not yet appeared in official jobs data. Retail employment also fell by 6,000.
The broader unemployment index, known as the U-6, which also includes laborers working part-time because they can't find full-time work, and those who want to work but have given up searching, rose to 8%, its highest since October 2021.
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 January 2025, 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.
Key takeaways: Jobs report shows softening labor market
February's job growth of 151,000 fell below economists' expected gains of 160,000, showing the labor market is cooling faster than predicted. Experts say many companies weighing policy changes and economic uncertainty are deciding it's safer to hold off on hiring decisions for now.
"If you were a company and you were saying, 'I'm looking to expand, or I'm looking to hire,' you would have investors in those companies saying, 'Are you crazy?'" Ron Hetrick, senior labor economist at Lightcast, told Marketplace.
Consumer spending fell in January for the first time in two years, which may have led to layoffs or hiring slowdowns, Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist, told NBC News.
The big story: From bold promises to frozen labor market
After an initial market pop following Trump's electoral win, indexes have slumped to below when he took office, and uncertainty about the future of the markets is a common theme. Are threatened tariffs in place, delayed, reversed, or ramped up? Has that federal worker been fired or given their job back? Are those federal dollars slashed or reinstated? It's a question mark that changes daily.
Research shows that uncertainty invites lower investment, slows employment, and increases financial market volatility. The word "uncertain" showed up 47 times in the March edition of the Beige Book, the Federal Reserve's snapshot of reports from across the nation, compared to 17 times in the previous report from January.
The new administration's blitz of executive orders and trade policy waffling have cast a dense fog over the short-term economic outlook. One thing that is known? Uncertainty isn't good for business planning, job creation, or hiring.
In a March 12 interview with Semafor, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon noted that average consumers likely don't change "what they're going to do because they read about tariffs," but "companies might."
"Uncertainty is not a good thing," Dimon added.
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
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.1%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 14,004 people (290 unemployed)
32. Eddy County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 31,465 people (1,089 unemployed)
30. Curry County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 21,641 people (787 unemployed)
30. Lea County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 35,691 people (1,300 unemployed)
29. Union County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,417 people (55 unemployed)
28. Bernalillo County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.1%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 351,965 people (14,591 unemployed)
26. Santa Fe County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.2%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 73,942 people (3,103 unemployed)
26. Roosevelt County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.2%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,183 people (342 unemployed)
24. Chaves County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 28,433 people (1,230 unemployed)
24. Sandoval County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 76,672 people (3,305 unemployed)
21. De Baca County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
--- 1-month change: +1.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 607 people (27 unemployed)
21. Harding County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
--- 1-month change: -0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 320 people (14 unemployed)
21. Quay County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
--- 1-month change: 0.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,439 people (152 unemployed)
20. Rio Arriba County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,217 people (749 unemployed)
18. Grant County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: +1.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,797 people (512 unemployed)
18. Valencia County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 33,663 people (1,596 unemployed)
17. Guadalupe County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
--- 1-month change: +1.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,592 people (77 unemployed)
16. Otero County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 24,418 people (1,189 unemployed)
13. San Juan County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 50,167 people (2,525 unemployed)
13. Socorro County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,029 people (301 unemployed)
13. Taos County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 15,695 people (785 unemployed)
12. Lincoln County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,324 people (421 unemployed)
11. San Miguel County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,339 people (542 unemployed)
10. Colfax County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,741 people (249 unemployed)
9. Dona Ana County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.4%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 102,916 people (5,595 unemployed)
7. Cibola County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,524 people (555 unemployed)
7. Torrance County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,145 people (355 unemployed)
6. McKinley County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.9%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 23,317 people (1,383 unemployed)
5. Hidalgo County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6%
--- 1-month change: +2.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,235 people (74 unemployed)
4. Mora County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.9%
--- 1-month change: +2.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,405 people (97 unemployed)
3. Catron County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.3%
--- 1-month change: +2.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,053 people (77 unemployed)
2. Sierra County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.5%
--- 1-month change: +1.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,129 people (308 unemployed)
1. Luna County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 15.4%
--- 1-month change: +1.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,154 people (1,559 unemployed)
This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Ben Popken, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.
