The unemployment rate in the state dropped by one tenth of a percent to 5.8% in July with hiring in retail, transportation and manufacturing playing a key role. Jim Roche, President of the New Hampshire Business and Industry Association, says the state benefits from having a number of advanced manufacturing firms. "As orders go up, they are slowly adding new jobs and I think they are the ones who have led us out of recession,"Roche said. "Although obviously, there are still a lot of unemployed people out there."

The economy showed more signs of slowed growth. Total nonfarm payroll employment dropped by 131,000 in July, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Federal government employment fell, as 143,000 temporary workers hired for the decennial census completed their work. Private-sector
payroll employment edged up by 71,000.