NH Workforce Check

Welcome to New Hampshire Business. I’m Fred Goldberg. A new report lays out the harsh reality that new Hampshire employers are struggling to recruit. And here’s a quote from that report. New Hampshire’s workforce remains below pre-pandemic levels with thousands of workers. Some major industries still have significantly fewer job vacancies than they did before the COVID 19 pandemic began. A historically low unemployment rate indicates a labor shortage in the state. With me is the man who researched and wrote that report, Phil Stratton, director of research at the New Hampshire Institute of Fiscal Policy. Welcome Phil. Thank you very much, Fred. Good to be here. Now let’s look at the graph you provided. This shows a significant shift in employment by industry. Type of business from February to June 20, 22, 2020. leisure and hospitality. Government education and health. manufacturing. information. trade. transportation. Utilities all down only. mining. Up logging and business services. What is the story behind that chart change? Hmm. Another part of the story is that some of these sectors were far more important. The early impacts of the pandemic, especially, are greater than others, including employees. Leisure and hospitality. For example, in the first few months of the pandemic, we lost more than half of the jobs we had in the pre-pandemic state. This is a far more severe impact than we have seen in other industries where more workers have been able to transition to working from home. For example, many of the workers in this industry were initially poorly paid, but as a result, especially now in New Hampshire, he has seen a shortage of 6,000 workers due to the pandemic. Became more dependent on assistance. education and health services; And given the fact that we’re starting school, and that hospitals and clinics are still under stress due to COVID, there’s another chart. To attract, we are offering higher wages and businesses and here is a chart showing the change in inflation-adjusted wages in New Hampshire. What is the relationship between average wages and inflation in New Hampshire? will decline in 2022. We found that inflation-adjusted wages increased towards the end of 2021 in certain sectors, especially in leisure, hospitality, education and health services. sector. However, 2022 saw a decline in average wages in these and other sectors. This means that more and more households are struggling to rebuild their finances and meet their budgets. About one in three adults surveyed in New Hampshire over the summer said she had some or a great deal of difficulty paying her usual household bills. Inflation is definitely a big part of that, as is the expiration of key supports such as the extended child tax credit. That number was considerably lower when inflation hit, and lower when these supports were in place. Simply put, Phil, especially because inflation is affecting people’s incomes, is there evidence of a turnaround in this situation with regard to employment? There is one risk. One, these high inflation rates and whether they will continue, and two, federal aid being cut from the pandemic to the national economy. Both housing and child care and access to both are key. Affordable housing means people living here can spend more money on other goods and services they need. Affordable housing, or lack thereof, means more dollars are going into it, and people who might want to move here for work find a place to move and live here. Affordable childcare is also a key factor. Its lack limits the ability of parents to engage in the workforce. How public policy addresses these issues will therefore be critical to how the economy moves forward in this state. On a different subject, but you still appreciate this. Finally, you and AGE at the Center for Small Business Development in New Hampshire can share how the Center can help small businesses in New Hampshire during this unique economic time. We are doing animal research for small businesses to find out. We put it on the screen and do our research. Thanks to Phil Slack, Director of Research, Director of Public Information and Fiscal Policy, and Fiscal Policy Institute. If you missed any part of this briefing on employment in New Hampshire, visit WMUR.

NH Business: Why is Granite State’s workforce below pre-pandemic levels?

Phil Thletten, research director at the New Hampshire State Fiscal Policy Institute, helps break down New Hampshire’s current workforce

Updated: Sep 25, 2022 10:24 AM EDT

Fred Kocher, NH Business Host

Like most places across the country, the New Hampshire workforce has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some areas have started to recover. Employment in New Hampshire is below pre-pandemic levels, so New Hampshire still has a way to go., discusses the current state of the New Hampshire workforce.

Manchester, New Hampshire —

Like most places across the country, the New Hampshire workforce has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some areas have started to recover. Employment in New Hampshire is below pre-pandemic levels, so there is still a way to go.

In NH Business’s latest article, host Fred Kocher joins Phil Sletten, Research Director at the New Hampshire Institute of Fiscal Policy, to discuss the state of the New Hampshire workforce.