The job market in New Hampshire has largely improved since 2025, when workers faced significant struggles. However, the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute has found that wages were not on par with inflation and productivity.
In the study, issued Wednesday, the Institute reported that nonfarm employment, adjusted seasonally, grew by 1.1% this year from 2025. It’s a partial recovery from the previous year in which employment dropped 1.1%, and it’s ahead of the national employment rate of 0.2%.
But Granite State workers still face major challenges, the report highlighted: lagging average wage growth, unevenly distributed job gains and rising ongoing unemployment claims.
“On Labor Day, we recognize the contributions workers make to New Hampshire’s economy, and the data show there is a lot to be encouraged by,” said Gene Martin, executive director of the Institute, in a statement. “But having a strong economy means more than simply having more people employed. It also means workers can see their earnings keep pace with the cost of living and that Granite Staters across ages, industries, and income levels have opportunities to thrive.”
Average private-sector wages fell behind inflation in the first seven months of this year, resulting in a 1.6% loss of worker purchasing power relative to 2025. Worker productivity has also leaped ahead of wage growth: The Institute found a 12.5% difference between the average output per hour (32.8%) and inflation-adjusted hourly compensation (20.3%) from 2007 to 2024.
The future of New Hampshire’s workforce is reliant on more young people and people moving to the state — though the median single-family house sale price reached $535,000 in 2025, while average annual center-based childcare for an infant and a 4-year-old was $30,000. Rising costs may detract those desired age groups from joining the state labor force.
While New Hampshire was the only New England state to experience labor growth in a 12-month period ending in June, the composition is changing. Workers ages 20 to 34 have declined in the labor force while those age 35 and older increased their share, suggesting young people and families are struggling with affordability and are moving out of state.
There’s an imbalance of gains by industry as well, the Institute reported. Health care and social assistance continued to be the largest growing industries in the state, while employment in manufacturing, retail trade and wholesale trade declined.
Unemployment in New Hampshire dropped below 3% this year. Despite growth in employment this year, those who have struggled with finding jobs continued to do so. In the first seven months of 2026, ongoing unemployment claims increased 23% compared to the same period two years prior. New unemployment claims stayed relatively stable.
