The local economy of New Hampshire and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data.
Unemployment rate
2.8%
August 2026, 3.1% a year ago
Average weekly pay
$1,656
Q1 2026, 674,990 jobs
New homes permitted
4,987
Last 12 months to August 2026
Net people moving in
+4,050
2022 to 2023
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for its history.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for New Hampshire, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for New Hampshire is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row.
The unemployment rate in New Hampshire was 2.8% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 3.1% a year earlier. 752,949 people were employed out of a labor force of 774,326. Among its counties, Carroll County had the lowest rate (2.3%) and Cheshire County the highest (3.0%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in New Hampshire was $1,656 in Q1 2026, up 3.0% from a year earlier, across 674,990 jobs at 66,121 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 365 new homes in New Hampshire in August 2026 (309 single-family and 36 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 3,361, up 21.6% from the same months last year, and 4,987 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Rockingham County (1,550), Hillsborough County (699), Strafford County (518) over the last 12 months.
Yes. From 2022 to 2023, 41,506 people moved to New Hampshire and 37,456 moved away, a net gain of 4,050 (+3.5 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Massachusetts, Maine, Florida, and most people who left went to Massachusetts, Florida, Maine.
The weekly survey does not publish a separate price for New Hampshire. In its region, New England, regular gasoline averaged $4.37 per gallon in the week of September 28, 2026.