According to seasonally adjusted unemployment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, NH had the second-lowest rate in the nation in March at 2.6 percent, down from 2.7 percent in February and 3.7 percent from March of last year.
Seasonally adjusted estimates account for fluctuations caused by predictable seasonal changes in weather, harvests, major holidays and school schedules. Estimates for March 2016 placed the number of employed NH residents at 724,890, an increase of 2,990 from the previous month and an increase of 10,560 from March 2015.
The number of unemployed NH residents decreased by 910 over-the-month to 19,300, a decrease of 7,880 unemployed individuals from March 2015. From February 2016 to March 2016, the total labor force increased by 2,080 to 744,190. This was an increase of 2,680 from March 2015.
NH’s unemployment figure was just 0.1 percent higher than South Dakota’s, who’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 2.5 percent was the lowest in the nation in March. Vermont had the second-lowest seasonally adjusted March rate in New England at 3.3 percent, followed by Maine at 3.4 percent, Massachusetts at 4.4 percent, Rhode Island at 5.4 percent and Connecticut at 5.7 percent. Alaska’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 6.6 percent in March was the highest in the nation.
Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for March was 5 percent, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the February rate and a decrease of 0.5 percentage points from the March 2015 rate.
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