NM Continues as Unemployment Rate Leader

A statistically significant seasonally adjusted job gain of 3,900 happened in New Mexico Between October and November. But it was little enough to keep us at the bottom (or top) of the unemployment rate rankings with 6.8% unemployed, up from 6.1% in November 2014, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released this morning.
The 6.8% unemployment rate was unchanged from October (and, indeed, unchanged from September. We now have the nation’s highest unemployment rate, up (or down) one place from October. We continue, therefore, with the nation’s worst economy.
New Mexicans are dropping from the labor force. Some of those not working have gone back to not bothering looking for work. The labor force dropped 2,100 from 916,600 in November 2014 to 914,700 last month, a drop of two tenths of one percent (0.02%). The more serious deterioration has been since September when the labor force was 923,500. The two-month seasonally adjusted decline is 8,800 people, or 0.95%, more than four times the year-over-year rate.
Meanwhile 6,100 more people have become unemployed year-over-year.
Unemployment has been steady at around 62,000 the past three months with the unemployment rate at 6.8%. That means the unemployment rate increase between November 2014 and November 2015 have come because of the drop in the labor force, because of people giving up this work thing.
“Employment” is defined as the labor force count minus unemployment. Employment dropped 8,000, or 0.93%, year over year.
Wage employment, the “other” set of job numbers, puts us in a bit better light. Between November 2014 and November 2015, seasonally adjusted wage employment increased 3,000 or a whopping 0.36% (a bit more than three tenths of one percent).
Separate surveys produce the separate numbers.
The Department of Workforce Solutions reported the unemployment rate in its release in mid-afternoon. DWS ignored our national unemployment rate standing. Gee.
The seasonally unadjusted sector wage job growth leaders between November 2014 and November 2015 were leisure and hospitality, up 3,100 jobs, or 3.5%, education and health services, up 2,900 jobs, or 2.2%, and professional and business services, up 2,800 jobs, or 2.8%.
Mining, meaning oil and gas, was down 2,900 jobs. Manufacturing and transportation both lost 1,100 jobs over the year.