New Mexico’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4% in July, up from 3.9% in June and up from 3.7%  in the previous year. The national unemployment rate in July was 4.3% up from 4.1% in June and up from 3.5% in July  2023.

Total nonagricultural payroll employment grew by 19,200 jobs, or 2.2%, between July 2023 and July 2024. The majority of gains came from the private sector. The private sector was up 15,700 jobs, or 2.3%, while the public sector was up 3,500 jobs, or 2%. Within the private sector, the private service-providing industries were up 12,800 jobs, or 2.2%, while employment in  the goods-producing industries was up 2,900 jobs, or 2.7%, from the level in July...

SANTA FE — New Mexico Publ ic Education Department Secretary Arsenio Romero resigned from his position on Aug. 28, effective immediately.

Earlier this month, New Mexico State University officials announced that Romero is one of five finalists for the position of president of the university. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued the following statement following Romero’s resignation:

“I appreciate Secretary Romero’s service to the New Mexico Public Education Department and the children of our state,” she said. “I wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

The governor and her staff will begin interviewing candidates to replace Romero as secretary of the NMPED...

ALBUQUERQUE — Out of more than 450 applications, the Families and Workers Fund selected the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions’ Energy Transition Workforce Equity project to be one of 14 awardees of the Powering Climate and Infrastructure Careers Challenge.

The Energy Transition Workforce Equity project will support NMDWS’ efforts to develop and expand New Mexico’s qualified clean energy workforce capacity. The new project will include systemic, coordinated, and regular convenings of a diverse, comprehensive, representative partnership of employers, educational institutions, community-based organizations, state agencies and policymakers.

The goals are to develop and...

SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed Elizabeth Anderson as State Engineer on Aug. 19.

Anderson, a highly respected water resources expert with over 25 years of experience in civil and environmental engineering, assumed the role immediately, bringing a wealth of knowledge and a strong commitment to advancing the state’s water security initiatives.

“I am pleased to appoint the first female, Elizabeth Anderson, as New Mexico’s State Engineer,” Lujan Grisham said. “Her extensive experience and dedication to water resource management make her the ideal leader to address the challenges posed by climate change and to implement our 50-Year Water Action Plan...