Unemployment skyrockets in NH, with 150,000 out of work

By TODD BOOKMAN
N.H. Public Radio

New Hampshire’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate ballooned to 16.3 percent in April, the highest level since local reporting on unemployment began in 1976, and a clear indicator of the coronavirus’ staggering impact on the state economy.

According to data released Tuesday by N.H. Employment Security, approximately 150,000 residents who had a job in March didn’t have one by April. The impact was felt across every sector of the economy, though retail, hospitality and restaurant workers were among the hardest hit.

Before the pandemic, New Hampshire’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate recorded 51 consecutive months below 3 percent and was consistently one of the lowest rates in the nation.

Although widespread layoffs began in late March following Gov. Chris Sununu’s Stay at Home order and restrictions on business, the unemployment rate for that month was officially recorded at 2.4 percent, due to surveys being performed during the first part of the month, before the pandemic’s severe impacts took hold.

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