NM jobless rate slips slightly in October

Rate of 6.1% still ranks state’s as second highest in U.S., behind Alaska’s 7.2%

New Mexico continues to have the second-highest unemployment rate in the nation, although there was slight improvement over the month before, according to federal figures released Friday.

New Mexico registered a 6.1 percent jobless rate for October compared to 6.2 percent in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. That compares to 6.8 percent a year ago.

The number of jobs in the state grew by 1.6 percent compared to October 2016, according to the state Department of Workforce Solutions. The overall increase of 13,100 jobs was due entirely to growth in the private sector as the number of government jobs continued to decline.

The most substantial numeric gain was in the leisure and hospitality sector, with the addition of 4,000 jobs, or 4.2 percent. Construction continued booming with a 4.7 percent increase, and jobs in the professional and business services category saw a 3.5 percent increase, the sector’s 29th consecutive month of growth, according to the state agency.

Nationwide, Alaska continued to have the worst unemployment rate at 7.2 percent. The U.S. rate edged down to 4.1 percent last month, a 17-year low.

Steady hiring drove down unemployment in most states. Hawaii had the lowest unemployment rate in October at 2.2 percent, followed by North Dakota, 2.5 percent.