While still one of the highest in New Mexico, Sierra County’s unemployment rate dropped from 9.6% to 9.2% in the last year, according to the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions.
In a news release, the department stated:
New Mexico’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.8 percent in February 2018, down from 5.9 percent in January and 6.4 percent a year ago…. Total nonagricultural payroll employment grew by 11,000 jobs, or 1.3 percent, between February 2017 and February 2018. The majority of gains came from the private sector, which was up 10,700 jobs, or 1.7 percent. Within the private sector, the goods-producing industries expanded by 5,200 jobs, or 5.8 percent, with each component industry adding jobs. The private service-providing industries added 5,500 jobs, representing a gain of 1.0 percent.
In Sierra County, the February 2017 unemployment rate was 9.6%, and the preliminary estimate for February 2018 is 9.2% unemployment. The total number of employed persons grew from 3500 to 3543, while the total number of unemployed persons dropped from 372 to 357. The total workforce increased from 3872 to 3900.
The counties with the lowest unemployment rates in New Mexico are Union County (3%) and Los Alamos County (3.4%). The counties with the highest unemployment rate are Luna County (17.5%) and Torrance County (9.3%).
For more information, call Erin Thompson at the Economic Research & Analysis Bureau, (505) 250-3926.
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