In 2025, southern New Mexico added jobs and saw a modest wage increase. But trade at the Santa Teresa port dropped sharply compared to the year before, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. The report shares important numbers for southern New Mexico counties, especially the Las Cruces metro area.
Crucial facts
- Las Cruces added about 2,000 jobs from December 2024 to December 2025, a 2.5% increase. Most of these jobs were in government, education, health services, and construction or mining, according to the Dallas Fed’s Q4 2025 Southern New Mexico Economic Indicators.
- Unemployment in Las Cruces rose to 5.1% in December 2025, up from 4.9% in September. By contrast, U.S. unemployment stayed at 4.4% during that time, according to the Dallas Fed.
- Average hourly pay rose to $25.54 in December 2025, up from $24.67 in September. Still, this amount was below the state and national averages in the report.
- Trade at Santa Teresa fell compared to the year before. The Dallas Fed said exports dropped by 48.9% and imports by 18.7% from November 2024 to November 2025, after adjusting for inflation.
Labor market signals strengthened, but not evenly across sectors
The Dallas Fed’s fourth-quarter update shows strong job growth in Las Cruces in 2025, while job growth was slow across the country. Most new jobs were in government and services. Some private businesses, such as professional services, hotels, and restaurants, saw small job losses during the year.
Unemployment in Las Cruces rose slightly late in the year, but the report notes the rate is still lower than before the pandemic. For more details, the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides state-level labor market snapshots in its New Mexico “Economy at a Glance” series.
Wage trend turned positive after a multi-year slide
After a stretch of falling pay in Las Cruces, the Dallas Fed reported a small rise in average hourly pay in the last quarter of 2025. Even so, average pay in the area remained below the state and national averages reported in the study.
Trade and commodity exposure remain a swing factor
The report notes a small increase in the value of imports through Santa Teresa at the end of 2025, after inflation adjustment. Still, both imports and exports dropped sharply compared to the year before, especially exports. This shows trade was weaker than in 2024.
Energy and other raw materials are still important in southern New Mexico. The Dallas Fed says New Mexico produced 2.1 million barrels of oil per day in February 2025, up 7.5 percent from the year before, but growth slowed by the end of the year. The number of active oil rigs in the state also fell from 108 in April 2024 to 100 in April 2025 as oil prices dropped. Dallas Fed Q3 2025 commodity markets