New Hampshire
NH unemployment claims rising, a potential salve for tight labor market • New Hampshire Bulletin
Years after the pandemic threw businesses into disarray, changing expectations around work and leading to widespread worker shortages, New Hampshire’s workforce demand is still strong. Currently, 85 percent of New Hampshire residents between 25 and 55 are employed, according to the Department of Employment Security.
“Historically (that’s) about as high as New Hampshire gets,” said Richard Lavers, deputy commissioner of the department, in an interview.
Employers are fighting for workers. Some are looking ahead eagerly to potential macroeconomic changes that would ease the hiring headaches, noted David Juvet, senior vice president of public policy at the Business & Industry Association, a statewide trade group.
“Others have just realized that the people aren’t out there,” Juvet said, referring to potential employees. “And so they’re making adjustments to try and get by with the individuals that they have.”
But last month, the department, which processes unemployment insurance claims, released an annual report that indicates an increase in unemployment claims in the state. And Lavers says it could provide a silver lining for the state’s job market.
“This year, employers had much more success in being able to fill their openings going into the summer season,” he said.
Here are three takeaways from the report.
Unemployment claims are rising, but they’re below 2019 levels
The number of Granite Staters filing unemployment claims has risen in recent years, according to Department of Employment Security data. In calendar year 2023, the department processed 25,452 claims, up from 22,683 in 2022 – a 12.2 percent increase.
And the state paid much more in unemployment claims from 2022 to 2023. It paid $35.4 million in 2023, compared to $25.2 million in 2022.
But that increase isn’t necessarily a bad thing, Lavers says. To start, he notes, 2022 was an abnormally low year for unemployment claims, the result of an extremely tight job market and a large number of vacant positions. A rise in unemployment claims is an indication that the labor market has healed somewhat, and that employers aren’t as desperate, according to Lavers.
“Back in 2022, we were actually below 2 percent unemployment,” Lavers said. “That was too low for the purposes of a healthy job market.”
Secondly, while unemployment claim numbers are rising, they are still just below comparable numbers in 2019. In June 2019, the average number of weekly unemployment claims was 3,180; in June 2024, that average was 3,130.
New Hampshire is an anomaly: Last month, the United States saw on average 12 percent more claims than June 2019, and Massachusetts saw 10 percent more.
Most of those unemployed are voluntarily unemployed
New Hampshire’s unemployment rate in 2023 averaged 2.2 percent, down slightly from 2022 when it was 2.3 percent.
But to Lavers, there is a more significant indicator. Among the residents currently making unemployment claims, about two-thirds are voluntarily unemployed, he said, meaning they left their jobs willingly and were not laid off or fired. That metric is measured by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics using a state-specific survey that features 1,300 Granite Staters.
New Hampshire’s ratio is high and reflects the fact that fewer layoffs are happening as employers clamor to convince their employees to stay. It also demonstrates a workforce looking to improve their work lives and feeling confident enough to leave positions, Lavers said.
“Those numbers are actually healthier than ‘22 and ‘23 when the number of people categorized as unemployed was lower, which came at the same time employers were struggling to fill their openings,” Lavers said.
Hiring is rebounding, but not for all
By some tallies, New Hampshire has grown its workforce since the pandemic. The state has 29,000 more jobs this year than it did before the pandemic, Lavers said, an increase of 4 percent.
Still, that increase is not even across the board. Office-based jobs have largely rebounded. But other areas, such as health care, have not. Hospitals and long-term care facilities continue to struggle to hire nurses, Lavers said.
“You continue to see that, a little bit of a, you know, an unequal experience across sectors,” Lavers said.
Juvet said New Hampshire employers are struggling with other job categories, including retail workers, restaurant workers, and technology and manufacturing workers.
Juvet said there remain fundamental barriers for businesses to be able to attract and hire employees, chief among them being housing and child care costs.
“I think the general high cost of living in New England is a factor, in terms of people considering New England as a place to move to,” Juvet said in an interview. “I think there’s a big gap between the availability of labor in the northern part of the state, say from Plymouth and north, to more southern, more densely populated parts of the state.”
And he said despite some positive movement in unemployment insurance claims, the New Hampshire business community is still struggling when it comes to employees.
“If the labor market is less restrictive than it was, I think it’s a marginal improvement,” Juvet said. “Many employers are still having trouble finding people.”
New Hampshire
Transportation officials warn N.H. customers of ‘smishing’ scam imitating E-ZPass invoice – The Boston Globe
Jennifer Lane received a text message Tuesday afternoon purportedly alerting her to an outstanding “toll invoice” in New Hampshire. If she didn’t pay her $4.15 balance promptly, then a $35 late fee would be added, the message claimed.
Lane knew right away it was a scam. She’s the chief communications officer for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, which manages the state’s E-ZPass electronic toll collection system, and her team had just sent out an alert a few hours earlier to warn customers about the con.
So she did exactly what the DOT’s heads-up had told the public to do if they receive such a message.
“I immediately reported it to my mobile carrier. I did not click on any links,” she said, adding that she would never give out personal or banking information when receiving a request via text message, email, or phone call.
If you know even the basics of cyber security, then you know “phishing” refers to the use of deceptive tactics online to trick someone into divulging sensitive information, such as by clicking a link in an untrustworthy email. When fraudsters use those tactics via texting — i.e., short message service, or SMS — that’s called a “smishing” scam.
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation said it was advised that an unknown number of Granite Staters are being targeted by an apparent smishing scam. It resembles cases that have been reported in other states in recent months, but the local messages are tailored to New Hampshire residents.
“It looks realistic, however the typos are obvious,” Lane said.
In this case, it seems the scammers are targeting phone numbers with 603 area codes, without any apparent insight into whether a number is affiliated with any of the state’s roughly 588,000 E-ZPass accounts, she said.
“Another employee in the office that does not have an E-ZPass received (a smishing message) as well,” she added.
New Hampshire’s E-ZPass will never send text messages requesting payment for tolls with late fees, according to the DOT’s message. Account holders should instead use the official NH Turnpike E-ZPass website or the NH E-ZPass mobile app.
If you receive a smishing text, you can alert your phone carrier by forwarding the suspicious message to 7726 (SPAM) and you can file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, the DOT noted.
This story first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.
Police are asking witnesses to come forward following a deadly crash on Wednesday night.
Troopers responding to a crash on I-93 near mile marker 32.4 in Bow around 5:41 p.m. for a report of a two-car crash found a white sedan and a blue SUV on fire in the woods off to the right side of the road, according to New Hampshire State Police.
An adult male who was driving the sedan was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity is not being released at this time pending next of kin notifications.
The driver of the SUV, an adult female, sustained serious injuries that aren’t believed to be life-threatening. She was transported to an area hospital.
Authorities closed Two lanes of I-93 southbound near the crash scene and they say drivers should seek alternate routes.
Investigators say there were multiple vehicles traveling at a high rate of speed prior to the crash. Anyone with information about what happened is asked to contact the Troop D barracks.
Members of the New Hampshire State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction (C.A.R.) Unit and the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating the cause of the crash. The Bow Fire Department and Concord Fire Department assisted at the scene.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy on the deceased victim Thursday.
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New Hampshire
Man, woman found dead inside home after fire in New Hampshire, state fire marshal says
Two people were found dead inside a duplex following a house fire in New Hampshire on Wednesday morning, the state fire marshal said.
There were no working smoke alarms inside the home when investigators arrived, officials said.
Shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday, Weare Fire received a 911 call reporting a building fire on High Rock Road, State Fire Marshal Sean Toomey said Wednesday.
When firefighters arrived, they found a man and woman dead inside the home, said Toomey, whose office was called to the scene to investigate.
The victims were not identified on Wednesday. Autopsies will be conducted on Thursday to determine the cause and manner of their deaths, Toomey said.
The fire was isolated to one side of the home, in the living room area, Toomey said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Weare is a small town northwest of Manchester. The town’s population was 9,092 at the 2020 census.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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