nh unemployment

There is a dramatic increase in NH Unemployment during the past few years. It has also been aggravated by the recession last year and without the government bailout funds there might be more unemployed.

There is hope though for a brighter future and a downward trend to the NH unemplyment problem.New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch on Tuesday signed the “NH Employment plan”. Under the law it permits companies and their employees to agree to reduced hours in place of layoffs.

Many would think that this means lower pay for employees agreeing to the law. However, the state had also increased unemployment benefits in order to compensate for the lost wages.6″ height=”440″ />
The “New Hampshire Working” law allows companies and their workers to agree to reduced hours in place of layoffs. The state would make up part of the lost wages through unemployment benefits.

Lynch signed the measure Tuesday.

The law is designed to reduce demand for jobless benefits and keep workers eligible for employer health benefits.
The four-quarter average unemployment rate for New Hampshire — from April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010 — using the U-6 measure, has just been given as 12.9 percent by NHES. This compares to an average of 6.6 percent using U-3 methodology. By coincidence, 6.6 percent was the official jobless rate in the Granite State in March 2009.

With the latest unemployment rate of 7.3 percent running higher than the 12-month average, it can be assumed that New Hampshire’s U-6 jobless rate — some would argue the true jobless rate — is currently in excess of 13 percent at the moment.