Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Albuquerque, NM MSA — September 2026
Albuquerque's jobless rate climbs as wage gains lag the state.
Metro unemployment rose to 5.5% in July while Bernalillo County wages grew just 3.0%, well behind New Mexico's statewide 8.1% wage gain, pointing to uneven economic momentum across the metro.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 5.5% — July 2026, up from 4.4% in May
- Bernalillo County wage growth: 3.0% — vs 8.1% statewide (NM) wage growth
- Metro nonfarm payroll change: -5,300 jobs — 1.3% YoY decline through March 2026
- New Mexico unemployment rate: 4.7% — August 2026, ranks 40th among states
Key takeaways
Albuquerque's jobless rate is rising faster than the wage data admits.
Unemployment moved from 4.4% in May to 5.5% in July while Bernalillo County wages still posted 3.0% annual growth, an unusual pairing that may suggest layoffs are concentrated among lower-wage or part-time positions rather than reflecting broad-based economic distress.
Public-sector contraction removes a historic stabilizer.
Metro nonfarm payrolls lost 5,300 jobs over the year through March, with 1,000 of those in government, a sector that has traditionally cushioned Albuquerque against private-sector volatility given the presence of Sandia National Laboratories, UNM, and federal operations.
Healthcare remains the metro's clearest growth engine.
Registered Nurse advertised pay rose significantly to a $108,849 metro median, outpacing even the national figure, consistent with statewide health and education services gains of 2.5% and signaling where labor demand is concentrated even as the broader market softens.
Wage growth lags the state, not just the nation.
Bernalillo County's 3.0% wage growth trails New Mexico's reported 8.1% statewide weekly wage increase in July, a gap that may indicate Albuquerque's local economy is capturing less of the state's wage momentum than counties like Doña Ana, which posted employment gains while Bernalillo contracted.
Median advertised pay by role — Albuquerque, NM MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $26,430 | $30,787 | $34,424 | Stable | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $26,214 | $29,120 | $31,200 | Stable | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $30,255 | $35,048 | $38,480 | Stable | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $46,587 | $68,975 | $82,290 | Moderate decline | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $30,569 | $35,360 | $38,882 | Stable | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $30,583 | $34,320 | $39,520 | Stable | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $59,000 | $71,905 | $78,000 | Moderate increase | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $31,200 | $37,440 | $38,480 | Moderate increase | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $33,280 | $37,960 | $41,080 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $29,259 | $36,920 | $38,064 | Stable | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $36,400 | $41,600 | $44,720 | Stable | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $34,320 | $41,600 | $45,784 | Moderate increase | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $49,920 | $59,904 | $67,938 | Moderate decline | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $87,279 | $108,849 | $119,006 | Significant increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $99,663 | $147,586 | $168,098 | Moderate increase | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer | $90,677 | $128,167 | $140,000 | Moderate decline | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $54,060 | $62,500 | $68,500 | Stable | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst | $65,811 | $86,731 | $96,440 | Significant increase | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $48,201 | $63,381 | $68,114 | Moderate decline | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist | $42,841 | $52,075 | $55,000 | Stable | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $70,000 | $76,916 | $90,070 | Significant increase | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $40,671 | $56,214 | $62,778 | Significant increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $60,363 | $80,000 | $103,855 | Stable | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $49,568 | $55,229 | $56,160 | Stable | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $71,891 | $90,650 | $95,033 | Stable | $98,279 |
* State-level figure shown where metro postings were too few.
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Industry snapshot
| Sector | Median advertised pay | Pay trend | Postings trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | $60,000 | Significant increase | Moderate increase |
| Manufacturing | $91,000 | Significant increase | Moderate increase |
| Retail Trade | $35,890 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $51,230 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $82,189 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $47,192 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $68,854 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $65,298 | Moderate increase | Stable |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $33,800 | Stable | Significant decline |
| Government | $67,832 | Significant increase | Stable |
Local market conditions
Albuquerque metro unemployment climbed to 5.5% in July 2026, up from readings near 4.4% in May, as total nonfarm employment contracted 1.3% year-over-year through March with losses concentrated in both private industry and government payrolls. Bernalillo County weekly wages rose 3.0% to $1,254, a pace that continues to track below the 8.1% statewide wage gain reported in July, suggesting Albuquerque's labor cost growth is diverging from, and lagging, the broader New Mexico trend.
What it means
Rising unemployment alongside continued wage growth in healthcare, education, and construction points to a metro economy cooling unevenly rather than uniformly contracting, a pattern commerce leaders should read as sector-selective softness rather than a broad downturn. Public-sector employment losses, compounding the 1,000-job statewide decline tied to federal workforce reductions, limit the payroll stability that has historically anchored Albuquerque's consumer spending base. Current conditions suggest local economic development and chamber leadership should monitor whether softness in professional and business services spreads into consumer-facing retail activity before treating the metro's momentum as merely a temporary dip.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: Watch whether Bernalillo County's 5.3% July unemployment rate, up 0.6 points year-over-year, continues climbing toward the statewide 4.7% figure or stabilizes as a metro-specific soft patch tied to federal and professional-services pullback.
Worth watching: New Mexico's minimal WARN activity, just 706 employees affected statewide year-to-date, including the Intel Rio Rancho notice for 227 employees, suggests layoffs remain isolated rather than systemic; a second large notice in the metro would mark a meaningful shift.
Potential inflection point: National wage growth has slipped to 3.0% against 3.4% inflation, the weakest real-wage position since 2021; if that national erosion reaches Albuquerque's consumer spending patterns, retail and hospitality activity could soften further.
Expected: September 2026 state and metro employment data, covering the period after the federal workforce reduction commentary from New Mexico's Taxation and Revenue Secretary, should clarify whether public-sector drag is stabilizing or deepening.
Methodology
Advertised pay from active employer job postings, not survey data. WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings: distribution analysis shows roughly the lowest 10% of raw values are erroneous entries, so the reported median is the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay. WageScape observes 98% of U.S. job openings daily.
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