Unemployment falls, both parties claim credit

According to New Hampshire Employment Security, the September seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.9% in New Hampshire, well below the national average of 5%. 

At this time last year New Hampshire's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.3%.

The New Hampshire labor force also increased in size compared to both the previous month and the previous year. The labor force is the total number of working age adults who are employed or are looking for work. Sometimes the unemployment rate can seem artificially low if unemployed residents stop looking for work. Anyone not looking for work is excluded from the labor force, and therefore does not count as unemployed.

Democrats and Republicans both want to claim credit for New Hampshire's low unemployment rate.

Gov. Maggie Hassan issued a press release that said, "New Hampshire’s low unemployment rate, which dropped to 2.9 percent in September, demonstrates that our state’s economy continues to strengthen." 

The conservative political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity (AFP) issued a press release connecting the low unemployment rate to recent business tax cuts. 

"Our economy has caught fire since employers got some tax relief, while job growth was languishing beforehand," said Greg Moore, AFP-NH State Director.

However, larger regional and national economic trends may be more responsible for the unemployment rate than any state policy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate improved by a similar percentage in Maine and Vermont over the past year. Massachusetts' unemployment rate decreased by almost a full percentage point from August 2015 to August 2016. 

Do you have an opinion on New Hampshire's unemployment rate? Let us know in the comments.