About 4,000 fewer people are working in New Hampshire, according to a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that tracked employment data from December 2024 to December 2025.
Greg David, assistant director of New Hampshire’s Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau, said there’s been a decline in people working for the state and federal government — partly because of the federal government’s layoffs last year, including Granite State employees.
“There's also been mostly a hiring freeze at the state level,” David said, adding that layoffs at the University of New Hampshire also count towards state job losses.
Retail, wholesale trades and manufacturing are all seeing a decrease in jobs.
“Those are the big losers in the last year," David said. "Some of that's tariff related, but manufacturing and wholesale have been losing for a couple of years.”
But David said the numbers aren’t all gloomy.
The healthcare, arts and entertainment, casinos and restaurant industries have all added jobs recently. Those last two sectors depend on people spending their extra income, David said, so the increase in staffing to accommodate those customers could be a sign that the state’s economy is strong.
The federal report also showed significant wage increases in some areas of New Hampshire. David said the state’s seen roughly 4.6% wage growth across the state.
“[That] is pretty solid,” David said, noting that it’s good to see wage growth increase with inflation.
Prices have risen in the Northeast by 5% between 2025 and 2026. Georgia Wright, an economist with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, said that's the biggest increase since February 2023.
It’s also a higher increase than the national rate of inflation, which is at 4.2%. Those price increases could eat into the gains some New Hampshire residents are seeing in their paychecks.
Hillsborough County had the highest increase in average weekly wages — that measures the pay increases for salaried and hourly workers — at 6.1%. Weekly pay on average in that county is $1,719.
David said higher paying jobs are concentrated in the more populated parts of the state, but the numbers might not reflect the reality for many residents in the area.
“Higher wages can really lift the average even if you're not seeing everybody gaining a lot,” he said. “This might be some lower-paying jobs declining and higher-level jobs gaining.”
Other counties recorded far lower averages. Coos County and Carroll County's weekly wage averages hovered at roughly $1,100.
