August 2026 | Released September 18, 2026

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United States

Employment snapshot

• In August, among the 50 states and the District of Columbia unemployment fell in 28, rose in 4, and remained unchanged in 19.

• The highest unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in District of Columbia, and the lowest was 2 percent in South Dakota. Nationally, the unemployment rate remained unchanged in August.

• In August, payroll jobs rose in 35 states and fell in 16. The largest payroll job percent increase was 0.6 percent in New Mexico. The largest payroll job percent decline was 0.3 percent in Maryland.

New Mexico

Employment snapshot

• In August, New Mexico added 5,500 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 4.7 percent. In the prior month, New Mexico added 5,800 net payroll jobs.

• Over the past 12 months, New Mexico added 14,500 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate rose by 0.6 percentage points from 4.1 percent.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 162,000 in August, or 0.1 percent. New Mexico is tied for 1st in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• In August, New Mexico’s private sector added 4,200 net private payroll jobs, and over the past 12 months it added 11,000 private payroll jobs. In the prior month, New Mexico added 4,200 net private payroll jobs.

• In August, employment in New Mexico fell by 600, and over the past 12 months it fell by 19,403.

• New Mexico’s labor force participation rate fell to 56.7 percent in August from 56.8 percent and ranks 49th in the nation. In the past 12 months, the labor force participation rate has fallen by 0.8 percentage points.

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New Mexico

Payroll employment

• New Mexico added 5,500 net payroll jobs, or 0.6 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during August. In the prior month, New Mexico added 5,800 jobs. New Mexico nonfarm payroll employment has increased in 6 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 162,000 in August, or 0.1 percent. New Mexico is tied for 1st in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• New Mexico added 4,200 private sector jobs, or 0.6 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during August. In the prior month, New Mexico added 4,200 jobs. New Mexico private sector payroll employment has increased in 7 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, private sector payroll jobs rose by 127,000 jobs in August, or 0.1 percent. New Mexico is tied for 3rd in the nation for percentage gain in private sector payroll employment over the past 12 months.

From July 2026 to August 2026:

• The best performing sectors were Construction (+1,200) and State and Local Government (+1,200).
• The worst performing sectors were Information (-100) and Leisure and Hospitality (+100).

From August 2025 to August 2026:

• The best performing sectors were State and Local Government (+5,600) and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (+4,100).
• The worst performing sectors were Federal Government (-2,100) and Professional and Business Services (-900).

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 56.7 percent in August from 56.8 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 August 2016, and the 10-year low was 54.1 percent in April 2020.

• The national labor force participation rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 61.6 percent in August.