NM unemployment rate drops slightly in August, to 4.4%

New Mexico no longer has the highest rate of unemployment of states in the country.

A Friday report from the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions shows New Mexico’s unemployment rate stood at 4.4% in August. That’s a decline from 4.5% in July, when New Mexico had recorded its lowest rate of unemployment since September 2008.

New Mexico in August was tied for the sixth highest rate of unemployment in the country, according to Friday data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The District of Columbia still has the highest rate of unemployment, and New York, Alaska, Illinois and Delaware all have higher rates than New Mexico, according to the data. The unemployment rate for August also marks the third month New Mexico has come in below 5%, according to state and federal data.

The August unemployment rate is a decline of more than 2% year over year, according to state and federal data. New Mexico, however, still trails the national unemployment rate of 3.7% in August.

Bernalillo County’s unemployment rate in August stood at 4%, a decline from 4.2% the previous month. Santa Fe County’s rate stood at 3.9%, a decline from 4.1% in July. And Doña Ana County had an unemployment rate of 4.6% in August, a decline from 5% in the previous month.

New Mexico, in the past year, has added more than 28,000 jobs, according to the data, which translates to a 3.4% increase.

Construction has been a major employer over the last year, having added more than 6,000 jobs in that time frame, according to DWS data. Jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector have grown by nearly 8,000 jobs.