New Hampshire's unemployment rate continues to decline, currently sitting at 2.8% according to the state's employment security agency. Meanwhile, the number of employed residents increased by 2,620 over last year, and is now 753,500.
The combination of slight decreases in unemployment and small increases in employment is a good sign to Greg David, assistant director of New Hampshire’s Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau. He said if unemployment rates had gone down without a gain in the number of employed people, it would have indicated people were frustrated with job hunting and leaving the labor force entirely.
“[This] means more people who want to work are employed,” David said. “That is a pretty encouraging trend.”
The unemployment rate shows how many people currently don't have a job, but are actively looking for one. The state's 2.8% rate is low compared to the national unemployment rate of 4.1%, but David said New Hampshire’s rate is often lower than the country’s.
Several industries in the state have added jobs over the last year, and David said healthcare is one industry that has a consistent demand for workers. Other sectors — including retail, manufacturing and construction — continue to struggle to add jobs or find workers to fill roles.
A low unemployment rate can be difficult for businesses as it means there aren’t as many qualified people actively looking for new work. Mike Danis, owner of Danis Construction in Lyndeborough, says the average age of his employees is now 62 because he can’t find enough younger people to fill his construction jobs.
“I could hire way more people today,” Danis said. “I have such a problem.”
Danis said without an influx of young workers to his construction business, he’s had to adapt his business model. He created a new company, “Tiny Houses of NH,” to try and hold onto his aging employees. The tiny homes he plans to build will allow them to work indoors instead of outside, and at a smaller scale than standard home construction.
“I'm having some people that are starting to time out and people that don't want to work as much,” Danis said. “We're all getting older.”
