Unemployment Rates
3 Cities to Watch
Source: U. S. Department of Labor
New Hampshire U.S.
Neil Pierson is editor of Scotsman Guide Commercial Edition.
Reach him at (800) 297-6061 or neilp@scotsmanguide.com.
Unemployment
New Hampshire’s unemployment rate was 2.7 percent as of this past
September, marking the 22nd consecutive month the state has had an
unemployment rate below 3 percent. Those figures, however, may be
masking some underlying issues.
The labor force grew by only 0.4 percent from 2010 to 2014. In 2015,
26. 4 percent of workers were 55 or older. The New Hampshire Fiscal
Policy Institute said employers were concerned about finding workers
to replace the large number of expected retirees in the near future.
The state’s largest employment sectors are trade, transportation and
utilities; education and health services; government; and professional
and business services. Construction is New Hampshire’s fastest-growing
job sector, however, with the 28,700 jobs as of this past August,
representing a 12. 5 percent year-over-year increase.
Focus: Exports
New Hampshire exported a total of $4.14 billion in products during 2016,
an increase of 3. 5 percent over 2015 and the 11th-largest percentage
jump for exports among all states. Computers and electronics accounted
for nearly one-third of the total, at $1.28 billion, according to the most
recent figures from New Hampshire Employment Security.
The state has several major export partners: Canada was the largest at
$555 million, with Mexico, China, Germany and the United Arab Emirates
each purchasing at least $200 million in exports during 2016. The
Manchester and Nashua metropolitan areas accounted for more than
one-third of the state’s total export market in 2015, the U.S. Department
of Commerce said. About 184,000 jobs were supported by trade in 2015,
the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition reported.
NASHUA
The city of 88,000 is a popular home for those who commute to
Boston, about 45 minutes away, since New Hampshire does not have
a tax on earned income or sales taxes. Nashua was ranked 16th on
Money magazine’s 2016 list of the best places to live in the U.S. The city
boasts big-name employers like BAE Systems, Fidelity, Oracle and UPS.
Nashua also has drawn praise as an immigrant-friendly city, connecting
immigrants to job-training and mentorship programs.
CONCORD
The state capital and home to 42,000 people, its major employers
include Capital Region Health Care, Genesis HealthCare, Sanel Auto
Parts and Lincoln Financial Group. A main attraction is the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, a space-themed science museum and
planetarium partially named in honor of Christa McAuliffe, a Concord
native who was killed in the Challenger space shuttle explosion in
January 1986.
MANCHESTER
The state’s largest city with about 110,000 residents as of July 2016, it is
located 50 miles north of Boston and is within an hour’s drive of many
of New Hampshire’s outdoors attractions. Located on the banks of the
Merrimack River, the city prides itself on its strong schools, hospitals
and housing options. Its largest employers are Elliot Hospital, Catholic
Medical Center, Southern New Hampshire University and Eversource
Energy. Some of the city’s top attractions are the Currier Museum of Art
and the Zimmerman House, designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd
Wright in 1950.
Sources: CBRE, City of Manchester, Currier Museum of Art, Cushman & Wakefield,
History.com, McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, Money magazine, New Hampshire
Employment Security, New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute, New Hampshire Public
Radio, Ski magazine, The Keene Sentinel, U. S. Census Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor,
U. S. Global Leadership Coalition, WalletHub
