Lea County, NM jobs, unemployment and layoffs
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Show me jobs near meLea County economy
4.1%
unemployment, Sep 2026
3.5% the month before
34,795
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
73,154
people in Lea County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$68,750
median household income
Source: Census ACS
29%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS
Lea County outlook: Steady
Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.
- Private-sector jobs up 11.6% from 2022 to 2025
- Population up 0.2% from 2020 to 2025
- Unemployment 4.1%, up 0.6 points from a year ago
- Sectors adding the most jobs: mining & energy (+960 jobs), retail (+497 jobs)
Learn and get funded in Lea County
- Which AI skills each kind of job asks for, with the pay premium.
- Your local workforce board and American Job Centers: training vouchers and re-employment help.
- Grants and funding for job seekers, ranked for your state and situation.
- Unemployment benefits by state, if you are between jobs.
Lea County layoffs
No layoff notices naming Lea County in the last 12 months are on file. The WARN Act covers employers with 100 or more workers, so smaller layoffs are not in it.
Employers hiring most in Lea County
Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.
- Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology3 open roles
- PENN Entertainment3 open roles
- Albertsons Companies2 open roles
- Safeway2 open roles
- Datacore Technologies1 open role
- Energy Innovation1 open role
- Intrepid Potash1 open role
- Milford A Winsupply Company1 open role
- Precision Group1 open role
- Shamrock Foods1 open role
Colleges in Lea County
| College | City | Type | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of the Southwest | Hobbs | Private non-profit 4-year | 1,000–4,999 |
Workforce development and job centers
The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Lea County. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.
Laid off in New Mexico? How to file for unemployment in New Mexico (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).
- Eastern Area Workforce Development Board
Chaves, Curry, De Baca, Eddy, Guadalupe, Harding, Lea, Lincoln, Otero, Quay, Roosevelt, Union
America`s Job Center - Hobbs
Hobbs · Affiliate · 575-942-2888
Mon-Fri 8:00am - 5:00pm
Cities in Lea County
Other New Mexico counties
Laid off or looking for work in Lea County?
See what to do first and the jobs open near you.
See your options after a layoffSources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); layoff notices from New Mexico’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. New Mexico unemployment benefits and severance rules.
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