Mediocre Job Growth continues, Unemployment Rate Up

During September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, 37 states and the District of Columbia showed a lower unemployment than in August. Six states were higher, seven showed no change.
New Mexico was one of the six with 6.8% unemployment in September, 6.7% in August and 5.9% in September 2014.
One reason for the unemployment rate increase is that our labor force grew by 7,000 people in the year between September 2014 and September 2015. Employment went from 858,900 in September 2014 to 861,200 a year later.
One might argue that once people are optimistic enough to join the labor force and seek employment, it takes a while to get the job. A ringer in the logic is that on a seasonally adjusted basis, the labor force has dropped 6,100 since July to 923,700 in September.
Remove the adjustment and our labor force—916,300 in September—is down a bit during the year and up by 1,300 since August.
Wage job growth over the year hung in at mediocre with 0,9% increase, or 7,600 jobs. Still, jobs are jobs.
The sector growth leader was education and health services, up 2,900 jobs, or 2.2% for the year. Second place went to leisure and hospitality, tourism in other words, with a 2.7%, or 2,500-job, one-year increase or about a third of the state’s total gain. Tourism dropped 3,200 jobs in August, presumably as the temporary hires became unhired. Professional and business services was third with 2,000 more jobs over the year, though down 1,000 from August.
Mining, meaning oil and gas, was the leading sector loser, down 1,100 jobs. Retail trade dropped 700 job while whole increase 300.
Local government growth continues with 900 more jobs, 400 of them in education.