March 2026 | Released May 06, 2026

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United States

Employment snapshot

• In March, among the 50 states and the District of Columbia unemployment fell in 14, rose in 10, and remained unchanged in 27.

• The highest unemployment rate was 6.3 percent in District of Columbia, and the lowest was 2.3 percent in South Dakota. Nationally, the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 4.3 percent.

• In March, payroll jobs rose in 35 states and fell in 15. The largest payroll job percent increase was 0.4 percent in Tennessee. The largest payroll job percent decline was 0.2 percent in Hawaii, Montana, and Oregon.

New Mexico

Employment snapshot

• In March, New Mexico lost 1,000 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage point to 4.8 percent. In the prior month, New Mexico added 1,800 net payroll jobs.

• Over the past 12 months, New Mexico lost 1,500 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate rose by 0.7 percentage points from 4.1 percent.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 178,000 in March, or 0.1 percent. New Mexico is tied for 29th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• In March, New Mexico’s private sector lost 1,500 net private payroll jobs, and over the past 12 months it lost 1,100 private payroll jobs. In the prior month, New Mexico added 2,000 net private payroll jobs.

• In March, employment in New Mexico fell by 2,267, and over the past 12 months it fell by 10,821.

• New Mexico’s labor force participation rate fell to 57.4 percent in March from 57.5 percent and ranks 49th in the nation. In the past 12 months, the labor force participation rate has fallen by 0.4 percentage points.

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New Mexico

Payroll employment

• New Mexico lost 1,000 net payroll jobs, or -0.1 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during March. In the prior month, New Mexico added 1,800 jobs. New Mexico nonfarm payroll employment has increased in 5 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 178,000 in March, or 0.1 percent. New Mexico is tied for 29th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• New Mexico lost 1,500 private sector jobs, or -0.2 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during March. In the prior month, New Mexico added 2,000 jobs. New Mexico private sector payroll employment has increased in 6 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, private sector payroll jobs rose by 186,000 jobs in March, or 0.1 percent. New Mexico is tied for 38th in the nation for percentage gain in private sector payroll employment over the past 12 months.

From February 2026 to March 2026:

• The best performing sectors were State and Local Government (+700) and Mining and Logging (+500).
• The worst performing sectors were Professional and Business Services (-1,100) and Construction (-800).

From March 2025 to March 2026:

• The best performing sectors were Private Education and Health Services (+2,800) and State and Local Government (+2,300).
• The worst performing sectors were Construction (-2,700) and Federal Government (-2,700).

New Mexico

Labor force

The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the civilian noninstitutionalized population age 16 and older who are employed or actively looking for work.

• The labor force participation rate in New Mexico fell to 57.4 percent in March from 57.5 percent in the prior month.

• New Mexico ranks 49th in the nation.

• The 10-year high for the labor force participation rate in New Mexico was 58.3 percent occurring in May 2016, and the 10-year low was 54.1 percent in April 2020.

• The national labor force participation rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 61.9 percent in March.