From December 2025 to March 2026, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments in New Mexico were 40,874, while gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments were 40,811, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner James B. Howard, Jr., noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment loss of 63 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2026. (See table 1.) During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 1,832. (See chart 1.)

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment that occur at all private businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track these changes in employment at private-sector establishments from the third month of one quarter to the third month of the next. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses is the net change in employment. (See the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.)

Gross job losses

In the first quarter of 2026, gross job losses represented 5.9 percent of private-sector employment in New Mexico; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.5 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. In New Mexico, contracting establishments lost 33,377 jobs in the first quarter of 2026, a decrease of 436 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 7,497 jobs, an increase of 28 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job gains

In the first quarter of 2026, gross job gains represented 6.0 percent of private-sector employment in New Mexico; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.5 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 3.) Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment due to expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. In New Mexico, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 33,425 in the first quarter of 2026, a decrease of 285 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 7,386 jobs gained in the first quarter of 2026, a decrease of 2,018 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 6 of the 8 published industry sectors in New Mexico in the first quarter of 2026. Other services had the largest over-the-quarter net job decrease, with a loss of 193 jobs. This was the result of 1,559 gross job losses and 1,366 gross job gains. Wholesale trade had a net loss of 154 jobs, and professional and business services had a net loss of 122 jobs. Retail trade showed a net gain of 519 jobs, the largest gain of any sector in the state. New Mexico’s construction industry sector had a net gain of 311 jobs.

For more information

The BED data series include gross job gains and gross job losses by industry subsector, for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size class. BED data for the states have been included in table 2 of this release. Additional information is available online at the Business Employment Dynamics homepage and the Business Employment Dynamics Summary.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2026 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 27, 2027, at 8:00 a.m. (MT).

Technical Note

The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of a federal-state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). The BED data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records.

More information on formal definitions of the data used in this release, along with coverage, concepts, and methodology, can be found in the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.

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Table 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses by industry, New Mexico, seasonally adjusted

Category	Gross job gains and losses (3 months ended)					Gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Mar. 2025	June 2025	Sept. 2025	Dec. 2025	Mar. 2026	Mar. 2025	June 2025	Sept. 2025	Dec. 2025	Mar. 2026
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	41,970	41,508	41,371	43,114	40,811	6.1	6.0	6.1	6.3	6.0
At expanding establishments	33,750	32,440	34,071	33,710	33,425	4.9	4.7	5.0	4.9	4.9
At opening establishments	8,220	9,068	7,300	9,404	7,386	1.2	1.3	1.1	1.4	1.1
Gross job losses	40,177	41,285	43,495	41,282	40,874	5.8	6.0	6.4	6.0	5.9
At contracting establishments	31,943	34,713	35,379	33,813	33,377	4.6	5.0	5.2	4.9	4.8
At closing establishments	8,234	6,572	8,116	7,469	7,497	1.2	1.0	1.2	1.1	1.1
Net employment change (2)	1,793	223	-2,124	1,832	-63	0.3	0.0	-0.3	0.3	0.1
Construction
Gross job gains	5,228	5,030	4,944	5,260	5,926	9.4	9.1	9.1	9.6	10.7
At expanding establishments	4,290	4,152	3,980	3,933	4,916	7.7	7.5	7.3	7.2	8.9
At opening establishments	938	878	964	1,327	1,010	1.7	1.6	1.8	2.4	1.8
Gross job losses	4,544	5,497	5,366	5,221	5,615	8.2	9.9	9.8	9.6	10.2
At contracting establishments	3,644	4,623	4,491	4,314	4,846	6.6	8.3	8.2	7.9	8.8
At closing establishments	900	874	875	907	769	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.7	1.4
Net employment change (2)	684	-467	-422	39	311	1.2	-0.8	-0.7	0.0	0.5
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	1,009	940	1,047	1,113	881	4.7	4.5	5.0	5.3	4.2
At expanding establishments	831	729	815	799	712	3.9	3.5	3.9	3.8	3.4
At opening establishments	178	211	232	314	169	0.8	1.0	1.1	1.5	0.8
Gross job losses	916	986	1,081	961	1,035	4.3	4.7	5.2	4.5	4.9
At contracting establishments	703	803	732	726	803	3.3	3.8	3.5	3.4	3.8
At closing establishments	213	183	349	235	232	1.0	0.9	1.7	1.1	1.1
Net employment change (2)	93	-46	-34	152	-154	0.4	-0.2	-0.2	0.8	-0.7
Retail trade
Gross job gains	5,264	4,337	4,378	4,007	4,752	5.6	4.5	4.6	4.3	5.1
At expanding establishments	4,444	3,367	3,775	3,349	3,809	4.7	3.5	4.0	3.6	4.1
At opening establishments	820	970	603	658	943	0.9	1.0	0.6	0.7	1.0
Gross job losses	4,009	4,723	4,420	5,224	4,233	4.3	4.9	4.7	5.5	4.5
At contracting establishments	3,299	4,128	3,842	4,729	3,545	3.5	4.3	4.1	5.0	3.8
At closing establishments	710	595	578	495	688	0.8	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.7
Net employment change (2)	1,255	-386	-42	-1,217	519	1.3	-0.4	-0.1	-1.2	0.6
Financial activities
Gross job gains	1,862	1,871	1,631	1,554	1,629	5.6	5.6	4.9	4.8	5.0
At expanding establishments	1,385	1,201	1,197	1,175	1,217	4.2	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.7
At opening establishments	477	670	434	379	412	1.4	2.0	1.3	1.2	1.3
Gross job losses	1,717	1,982	1,842	1,716	1,657	5.2	6.0	5.6	5.2	5.1
At contracting establishments	1,096	1,577	1,252	1,193	1,171	3.3	4.8	3.8	3.6	3.6
At closing establishments	621	405	590	523	486	1.9	1.2	1.8	1.6	1.5
Net employment change (2)	145	-111	-211	-162	-28	0.4	-0.4	-0.7	-0.4	-0.1
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	6,260	7,984	7,797	6,508	5,870	5.2	6.6	6.5	5.4	5.0
At expanding establishments	4,800	6,269	6,525	5,060	4,742	4.0	5.2	5.4	4.2	4.0
At opening establishments	1,460	1,715	1,272	1,448	1,128	1.2	1.4	1.1	1.2	1.0
Gross job losses	6,311	8,373	8,939	7,304	5,992	5.2	7.0	7.4	6.1	5.1
At contracting establishments	4,843	7,101	7,371	5,961	4,609	4.0	5.9	6.1	5.0	3.9
At closing establishments	1,468	1,272	1,568	1,343	1,383	1.2	1.1	1.3	1.1	1.2
Net employment change (2)	-51	-389	-1,142	-796	-122	0.0	-0.4	-0.9	-0.7	-0.1
Education and health services
Gross job gains	6,520	6,855	6,251	8,100	6,115	4.7	4.9	4.3	5.7	4.2
At expanding establishments	4,847	4,937	5,205	5,851	4,881	3.5	3.5	3.6	4.1	3.4
At opening establishments	1,673	1,918	1,046	2,249	1,234	1.2	1.4	0.7	1.6	0.8
Gross job losses	5,740	4,990	5,751	5,187	6,195	4.1	3.5	4.0	3.6	4.3
At contracting establishments	4,132	3,993	3,919	3,944	4,805	3.0	2.8	2.7	2.7	3.3
At closing establishments	1,608	997	1,832	1,243	1,390	1.1	0.7	1.3	0.9	1.0
Net employment change (2)	780	1,865	500	2,913	-80	0.6	1.4	0.3	2.1	-0.1
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	7,480	6,687	7,853	8,012	7,310	7.5	6.7	8.0	8.0	7.4
At expanding establishments	6,105	5,599	6,494	6,697	6,248	6.1	5.6	6.6	6.7	6.3
At opening establishments	1,375	1,088	1,359	1,315	1,062	1.4	1.1	1.4	1.3	1.1
Gross job losses	7,834	6,780	7,664	7,061	7,334	7.9	6.8	7.7	7.1	7.3
At contracting establishments	6,665	5,793	6,957	5,932	6,127	6.7	5.8	7.0	6.0	6.1
At closing establishments	1,169	987	707	1,129	1,207	1.2	1.0	0.7	1.1	1.2
Net employment change (2)	-354	-93	189	951	-24	-0.4	-0.1	0.3	0.9	0.1
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	1,633	1,222	1,615	1,482	1,366	7.8	5.9	7.9	7.1	6.5
At expanding establishments	1,317	889	1,336	1,166	1,055	6.3	4.3	6.5	5.6	5.0
At opening establishments	316	333	279	316	311	1.5	1.6	1.4	1.5	1.5
Gross job losses	1,526	1,600	1,192	1,600	1,559	7.3	7.7	5.7	7.6	7.4
At contracting establishments	1,251	1,392	831	1,284	1,263	6.0	6.7	4.0	6.1	6.0
At closing establishments	275	208	361	316	296	1.3	1.0	1.7	1.5	1.4
Net employment change (2)	107	-378	423	-118	-193	0.5	-1.8	2.2	-0.5	-0.9
(1) Includes unclassified sector not shown separately. (2) The net employment change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses. (3) Except public administration.

Table 2. Private-sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted

Category	Gross job gains as a percent of employment (3 months ended)					Gross job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Mar. 2025	June 2025	Sept. 2025	Dec. 2025	Mar. 2026	Mar. 2025	June 2025	Sept. 2025	Dec. 2025	Mar. 2026
United States(1)	5.7	5.7	5.7	6.0	5.5	5.5	6.0	5.7	5.5	5.5
Alabama	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.9	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.5	5.3	5.2
Alaska	10.4	10.0	7.4	11.9	9.6	8.3	9.9	10.0	9.4	9.4
Arizona	5.8	5.2	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.3	6.2	5.3	5.4	5.6
Arkansas	5.1	5.1	5.4	6.0	5.3	5.1	5.6	5.4	5.3	5.4
California	6.1	6.4	6.3	6.9	6.3	6.4	6.7	6.1	6.1	6.0
Colorado	6.4	6.5	6.5	6.3	6.0	6.6	6.7	6.4	6.2	6.5
Connecticut	5.7	5.8	5.4	5.5	5.3	5.2	5.7	5.7	5.5	5.4
Delaware	6.0	6.0	5.3	5.5	5.5	5.4	6.1	6.0	5.6	5.4
District of Columbia	4.9	5.7	4.6	5.5	5.0	5.8	6.1	6.0	5.1	4.9
Florida	5.8	5.7	6.0	5.9	5.3	5.5	5.8	5.9	5.6	5.5
Georgia	5.6	5.5	5.7	5.9	5.3	5.7	5.6	5.7	5.4	5.5
Hawaii	5.2	4.9	5.2	5.1	5.0	5.2	5.2	4.8	4.7	5.1
Idaho	7.5	7.6	6.7	8.0	7.7	7.3	7.1	7.6	6.3	7.0
Illinois	5.0	5.2	4.7	5.3	5.1	5.0	5.1	5.0	5.3	5.0
Indiana	5.4	5.1	5.1	5.5	4.9	5.1	5.4	5.1	5.1	5.1
Iowa	6.0	5.5	4.8	6.2	6.0	5.6	5.8	5.9	5.4	5.4
Kansas	5.5	5.4	5.8	5.8	5.4	5.4	6.3	5.8	5.4	5.3
Kentucky	5.3	5.0	5.3	5.3	5.2	4.9	5.3	5.6	5.1	5.3
Louisiana	5.8	5.6	6.0	6.0	5.7	5.7	6.2	5.9	5.9	5.4
Maine	7.3	7.1	6.4	6.8	6.4	6.4	7.3	7.0	7.0	6.3
Maryland	5.9	5.7	5.8	6.1	5.6	5.8	6.6	6.3	5.5	6.0
Massachusetts	5.0	5.5	5.3	5.4	5.2	5.1	5.7	5.9	5.5	5.3
Michigan	5.3	5.8	4.9	5.6	5.4	5.3	5.4	5.9	5.3	4.9
Minnesota	5.1	5.8	5.3	5.5	5.2	5.4	5.5	5.6	5.5	5.6
Mississippi	6.0	6.2	6.4	6.4	5.7	6.1	6.2	6.0	5.9	6.3
Missouri	5.4	5.6	5.7	6.2	5.6	5.2	6.1	5.9	5.4	5.3
Montana	8.0	7.7	7.1	8.4	7.8	7.6	8.3	7.9	7.4	7.0
Nebraska	5.3	5.4	5.6	5.7	5.4	5.3	5.5	6.0	5.3	5.4
Nevada	5.4	6.1	6.9	6.4	5.7	5.9	6.3	5.3	5.4	5.7
New Hampshire	6.6	6.3	5.6	6.3	6.1	6.1	6.7	6.8	5.7	6.3
New Jersey	5.4	5.7	5.3	5.8	5.3	5.5	5.6	5.8	5.4	5.5
New Mexico	6.1	6.0	6.1	6.3	6.0	5.8	6.0	6.4	6.0	5.9
New York	7.0	6.1	5.9	5.6	5.4	5.2	7.0	5.7	5.5	5.2
North Carolina	5.6	5.7	5.4	6.0	5.8	5.5	5.4	5.7	5.0	5.3
North Dakota	6.7	6.4	6.2	6.9	6.8	6.5	6.8	6.6	6.4	6.7
Ohio	5.2	5.3	5.2	5.3	5.2	4.9	5.4	5.3	5.0	5.1
Oklahoma	5.5	5.6	6.0	6.2	5.3	5.3	6.2	6.3	5.3	5.3
Oregon	6.1	6.1	5.7	5.9	5.7	6.1	6.4	6.6	6.0	5.9
Pennsylvania	5.0	4.9	5.0	5.1	4.7	4.7	5.1	5.1	4.7	4.8
Rhode Island	6.6	6.3	6.0	6.6	5.8	5.9	6.7	6.6	6.2	6.0
South Carolina	6.1	5.9	6.3	6.6	6.0	5.6	6.1	6.1	5.5	5.7
South Dakota	6.3	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.9	6.4	6.0	5.9	6.1
Tennessee	5.5	5.3	5.8	6.0	5.4	5.3	6.5	5.5	5.3	4.9
Texas	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.8	5.4	5.1	5.3	5.2	4.9	5.4
Utah	6.8	6.9	6.9	6.6	6.4	6.2	6.8	6.5	6.2	6.1
Vermont	7.0	6.9	6.7	7.0	6.6	6.8	7.4	7.7	7.0	6.5
Virginia	5.6	5.9	5.8	5.8	5.5	5.2	5.8	6.1	5.2	5.4
Washington	5.7	6.0	5.2	5.6	5.7	6.0	5.9	6.0	5.7	5.5
West Virginia	6.7	5.6	6.1	6.1	6.4	5.9	6.4	6.2	6.2	5.4
Wisconsin	5.1	5.3	4.9	5.5	5.4	5.0	5.4	5.6	5.1	4.9
Wyoming	8.1	8.3	7.7	9.0	8.8	8.8	8.9	8.4	8.0	8.2
Puerto Rico	6.5	7.0	5.2	4.6	4.6	5.2	6.0	5.4	5.3	4.6
Virgin Islands	6.1	11.9	6.9	8.4	7.3	8.8	9.2	7.5	5.7	7.1
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. The sum of the states will not necessarily add to the U.S. total because of the independent seasonal adjustment of each state.