State jobless claims grow after steady drop

Slight increase comes as unemployment benefits trust runs dry

New Mexico saw a slight uptick in initial regular and self-employed unemployment claims for the week ending Sept. 19 after regular claims dropped for eight straight weeks, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

New regular jobless claims rose by 456 applicants to 3,893 statewide, while claims by the self-employed, contractors and gig workers inched up by 97 to 1,397, Labor Department data showed.

Santa Fe County initial jobless claims for the same week rose by 26 to 211 new claims, according to the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions.

Workforce Solutions Secretary Bill McCamley on Tuesday told the House Revenue Stabilization and Tax Policy Committee that the state’s $465 million unemployment benefits trust fund had been exhausted since Sept. 8 and the department has relied on about $35 million in borrowed federal funds to pay out benefits.

He said about 123,000 New Mexicans are receiving unemployment benefits, in contrast to 9,600 active claims before massive coronavirus layoffs started in mid-March.

The U.S. Census Bureau in a Household Pulse Survey released this week determined 31.8 percent of New Mexicans expect losses in employment income in the next four weeks. Only Hawaii, Nevada, California, Texas and Connecticut have higher percentages.

New Mexico also had the 11th-highest unemployment rate Sept. 12 at 10.48 percent, according to the Labor Department.