New Mexico scales down unemployment benefits, battles fraud

By MORGAN LEE
Associated Press

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — State labor officials are warning that unemployment benefits are scheduled to come to a close for about 50,000 New Mexico residents in early September, as the federal government ends supplemental payments to people who lost jobs or self-employment income during the pandemic. New Mexico has rebuilt its unemployment trust fund to its pre-pandemic level thanks to federal relief money. Employers remain wary of the state’s high unemployment rate that could lead to tax increases to sustain benefits. Fraudulent attempts to hijack benefits are surging in the closing weeks of the federal unemployment bonus.