The local economy of New Mexico and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data.
Unemployment rate
4.7%
August 2026, 4.1% a year ago
Average weekly pay
$1,235
Q1 2026, 867,405 jobs
New homes permitted
7,746
Last 12 months to August 2026
Net people moving in
-1,508
2022 to 2023
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for its history.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for New Mexico, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for New Mexico is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row.
The unemployment rate in New Mexico was 4.7% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 4.1% a year earlier. 924,066 people were employed out of a labor force of 969,788. Among its counties, Los Alamos County had the lowest rate (2.2%) and Luna County the highest (11.4%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in New Mexico was $1,235 in Q1 2026, up 2.7% from a year earlier, across 867,405 jobs at 67,081 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 728 new homes in New Mexico in August 2026 (546 single-family and 164 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 5,241, down 1.9% from the same months last year, and 7,746 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in New Mexico Balance of State (2,704), Bernalillo County (1,720), Sandoval County (810) over the last 12 months.
No, more people moved out than in. From 2022 to 2023, 53,433 people moved to New Mexico and 54,941 moved away, a net loss of 1,508 (-0.9 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Texas, California, Arizona, and most people who left went to Texas, Arizona, Colorado.
The weekly survey does not publish a separate price for New Mexico. In its region, Gulf Coast, regular gasoline averaged $3.92 per gallon in the week of September 28, 2026.