New Hampshire’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.7 percent last month, down from 4.9 percent in January.
That’s according to numbers released Tuesday by the state’s employment security office.
The overall number of unemployed residents in New Hampshire dropped to just more than 36,000 people.
“Today’s announcement is encouraging news that reinforces that our economy is strengthening and that we are out from under the worst burdens of the recession,” said Gov. Maggie Hassan. “New Hampshire’s unemployment rate has already dropped .4 percent in 2014 and is now a full two points below the national average. At the same time, participation in our labor force has continued to increase.”
The state’s unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in February of last year.
Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for last month was 6.7 percent, which was a slight increase from January.
Senate President Chuck Morse said when Republicans took control of the Senate in November of 2010, the state’s unemployment rate stood at 5.8 percent.
“Since then, we have cut spending and balanced two budgets without increasing taxes or fees, reformed and improved our business statutes for small and large employers, and updated the state’s three tax credit programs, including doubling and making permanent the Research and Development Tax Credit,” Morse said. “These policies have given businesses the confidence they need to locate, expand, and create jobs in New Hampshire, and as a result the number of residents employed has grown by nearly 15,000.”
