New Hampshire economy

New Hampshire's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate ballooned to 16.3 percent in April, the highest level since local reporting on unemployment began in 1976, and a clear indicator of the coronavirus’s staggering impact on the state economy.

Governor Sununu announced plans for a slow reopening of the New Hampshire economy after more than a month of stay-at-home orders, yet many businesses remained closed and people rethink their summers. We talk about the summer economy in New Hampshire and what to expect this year, from tourism to real estate. 

Air date: Monday, May 4, 2020. 

As schools close, business travel is cancelled, and more offices encourage people to work from home, we look at how response to the spread of the coronavirus impacts our economy in New Hampshire, and what global economic volatility might mean for the Granite State. 

Click here for all of our coronavirus coverage. 

Air date: Wednesday, March 11, 2020. 

In 2019, we make a tentative forecast of the economic trends to watch in the new year. From continued affordable housing challenges in New Hampshire, to tariffs and stock market fluctuations internationally, we look at what indicators you should keep an eye on. 

Corporate subsidies are something of a taboo topic in New Hampshire. The state historically doesn’t offer them and, to hear most elected officials explain it, they wouldn’t even consider subsidies when courting new businesses. That was the case when Amazon was scouting potential sites for its new headquarters and 50,000 accompanying jobs.  

It’s an eye-catching statistic in an otherwise routine data dump.

Through the first ten months of 2018, sales of New Hampshire-made weapons to Saudi Arabia soared. 

We take a look at the health of New Hampshire's economy, real estate market, and banks ten years after the recession. We also talk about the importance of migration for growing the state, and the announcement of new jobs at BAE, a Londonderry company leaving the state because of a lack of public rail, and ARMI's plan to be in production by spring. 

Scientists, tech entrepreneurs and government officials are in Manchester this week to talk about human tissue engineering. It's a complicated new technology, but backers say it could transform southern New Hampshire's economy.

Job growth in the Granite State is still healthy - while wage growth remains slow.  Consumers seem in the mood to spend, but some local retailers say they lack shoppers.  And New Hampshire's housing crunch just gets tighter -- especially for renters.

By all accounts yesterday was an embarrassing day for political leaders in Concord. The bill they crafted, at Gov. Chris Sununu’s direction, aimed to blunt a U.S. Supreme court ruling that could force local business to collect taxes for other states. It was rejected by the New Hampshire House. NHPR’s Josh Rogers and Peter Biello talked about the political ramifications of the bill's failure, particularly for Sununu.

State lawmakers failed to pass a bill Wednesday that backers say would have protected New Hampshire businesses from having to collect sales taxes on behalf of other states.

The outcome, during a special session of the Legislature, was a surprising turn given that leadership in both parties and Governor Chris Sununu backed the broader bill.

A major ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court last month means that states that impose a sales tax can now require businesses located outside of their borders to collect that tax and turn the money over. It’s a big deal for New Hampshire, one of the few states without a sales tax.

It can be hard to get excited about something as abstract as a soybean or steel tariff, but that doesn't mean you can just ignore it.

How are tariffs and international trade disputes impacting our state? We also take a look at summer employment, including the shortage of workers. And, how do large companies mergers impact the little guys?

In New Hampshire’s increasingly tight rental market, one area where there’s new development is conversion of industrial buildings. It’s a niche market, but one that’s attracting multiple generations of residents.

In a parking lot in Manchester, surrounded by a maze of early 20th-Century brick factory buildings just south of the ballpark, Mike Bernier explains how he ended up here.

At her home studio, embroidery artist Sarah Benning stitches together one of her pieces. It’s a sun-filled room at this time of the morning. The artist’s finished work spills into the space around her with dozens of circular canvases bubbling up onto the walls. There are also plenty of house plants around.

“A lot of my work is inspired by my own house plants,” Benning says, “The very first plant pieces I stitched were actually inspired by houseplants that I killed, luckily I’ve gotten better and they’re not all dead plants now.”

The United States Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday in a case with huge potential impact on New Hampshire businesses, as well as anyone who shops online.

The case essentially pits the 45 states that impose a sales tax against the handful that don’t, including the Granite State.

We look at two economic forces that directly impact each other: international trade and the stock market. What do trade announcements from Washington mean for New Hampshire, and how does a fluctuating stock market impact our economy? We'll also look at a big employer for Granite Staters: foreign companies.

We'll look at the President's new budget proposal and how it may impact Granite Staters, and discuss what the recent closure of several labor and delivery units at local hospitals means for our healthcare sector in New Hampshire. 

Joel Storella’s “Cash Only Vintage” is about the last thing visitors to Littleton, New Hampshire expect to find while strolling along Main Street.

The quintessential New England town is known for being home to the world’s longest candy counter and the author of Pollyanna...but vintage Ralph Lauren sweatshirts and highlighter colored ski suits? Not so much. But those are just two of the many 80s and 90s gems you’ll find at Storella’s vintage clothing store.