Economic News

The New Mexico State Workforce Development Baord will hold virtual Zoom meeting Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. 

The U.S. Department of Labor has approved a National Dislocated Worker Grant in the amount of $3 million to the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions (NMDWS). The funding will provide employment recovery for displaced workers significantly affected by the spread of COVID-19, which will ultimately enable businesses and New Mexico residents to begin to recover from the negative economic impact to our state.

The CARES Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020. By April 25, New Mexico was one of only seven states that were issuing payments on all three federally funded programs under the Act, including Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).

New Mexico AmeriCorps programs are seeing their service members remaining active through "boots-on-the ground" activities, remote "teleservice," and by re-assignment for COVID-19 response service with partner agencies. 

An additional 13 weeks of benefits is available to individuals who have exhausted their regular state Unemployment Insurance claim with a benefit year that ended on or after July 1, 2019.

Due to scheduled maintenance the Unemployment Insurance Tax & Claims System will be temporarily unavailable starting at 5:00 p.m. this evening, April 24, 2020 though 1:00 a.m. on April 25, 2020. The Unemployment Insurance Operations Center will also be closing at 5:00pm.

New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions announced today that the application for unemployment insurance benefits for self-employed, independent contractors, and gig economy workers will become available on Sunday, April 26, 2020. These benefits are being offered through the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. 

The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions (NMDWS) released unofficial numbers for new Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims filed for Friday, April 10 to Thursday, April 16, 2020.

• 13,898 - Total number of new claims processed for the week. Not all claimants will qualify for UI benefits.
• 79,049 - Number of weekly certifications for the same timeframe mentioned above. These include people receiving benefits and others who are in the system and awaiting determination.
• $420 million – Current trust fund balance.