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Census Bureau 2018 Estimates for Income, Poverty, Housing Costs, and Health Coverage

October 9, 2019 State Economy
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The U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data released September 26, 2019 provide estimates of population characteristics based on data collected in surveys conducted throughout 2018. The survey data provide year-to-year comparisons of key indicators affecting the lives of Granite Staters, including data concerning household income, poverty, rental housing costs, and health coverage. Income and poverty levels remained essentially unchanged from last year. Rental housing costs continued to be high relative to incomes, and household income inequality increased.

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New Hampshire’s Workforce, Wages, and Economic Opportunity

August 30, 2019 State Economy

The essence of a labor market is the workers in it. When an economy improves, it is often assumed that conditions for workers, including wages and job opportunities, improve as well. In the decade since the Great Recession, which officially lasted from December 2007 to June 2009, New Hampshire’s economy has seen growth in its inflation-adjusted Gross State Product, increases in the number of available jobs and in the size of the labor force, and continued decreases in the unemployment rate. On the surface, it appears that this combination of factors would lead more workers to being better off than they were before the Great Recession. However, the economic recovery has not reached all Granite Staters equally.

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New Hampshire’s Numbers: Disparities Between Counties and Populations Persisted in 2013-2017

December 18, 2018 State Economy

Estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey provide insights into the economic conditions of New Hampshire residents. Estimates released in December 2018 average responses over the five-year period from 2013 to 2017, which allows for more certainty among smaller populations than annual data alone. These new estimates show widely differing levels of income and poverty between New Hampshire counties, as well as between statewide demographic and family groups, in the last five years.

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New Hampshire’s Minimum Wage Falls Further Behind

6 Jan 2020

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The federal minimum wage is the lowest hourly wage that can be paid to most workers anywhere in the nation. Since its inception at the national level in 1938, when only certain workers were covered, the wage has increased and encompassed more types of employees over time. State law sets New Hampshire’s minimum wage to the federal minimum level, currently at $7.25 per hour. An individual working 40 hours per week at this wage will make about $15,000 per year, assuming they work all 52 weeks. This income level is below the federal poverty guidelines for all households other than a single person, and well below the levels for households that include a partner and children.