Wide range of NH jobless rates

MANCHESTER – Local unemployment rates in three towns topped 10 percent, while seasonally unadjusted figures were still below 5 percent in six communities during September.

Border towns like Seabrook, Plaistow, Salem, and Plaistow are tied to the Massachusetts economy, where the seasonally adjusted jobless rate rose to 9.3 percent in September.

New Hampshire's statewide average seasonally adjusted jobless rate for September was 7.2 percent.

In Colebrook, which had the state's highest rate at 10.7 percent, the late August closure of the Ethan Allen plant in Beecher Falls, Vt., appeared to have the biggest impact. New Hampshire workers accounted for about 60 percent of the people who worked there.

"The Colebrook area, because it is a relatively small area, it doesn't take a huge difference to make a big change in the unemployment rate," said New Hampshire Employment Security research analyst Anita Josten.

For September an additional 60 out-of-work residents pushed Colebrook's rate up to 10.7 percent from 8.5 in August, state statistics show. The local labor force in Colebrook fell from 2,990 to 2,920 for the month.

Although there are signs the recession has hit bottom and recovery has begun, hiring is one of the last economic indicators to turn positive, Josten said.

"Most companies will increase hours for current workers before they take on the responsibility of having to pay another one," she said.

"Because there is so much uncertainty right now, that just adds delay and hesitation to them making any kind of action like that," she said.

While September is too early to reflect seasonal hiring, especially in retail in anticipation of the Christmas shopping season, there is much uncertainty about the current season as last year didn't provide much of a boost.

"Last year we didn't see the holiday boost that we normally do in hiring," Josten said. "The good side of that was we didn't see as many people let go in January."

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On the Net:www.nh.gov/nhes/elmi