December 2025

Released January 27, 2026

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United States

Employment snapshot

• In December, among the 50 states and the District of Columbia unemployment fell in 8, rose in 21, and remained unchanged in 22.

• The highest unemployment rate was 6.7 percent in District of Columbia, and the lowest was 2.2 percent in Hawaii and South Dakota. Nationally, the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 4.4 percent.

• In December, payroll jobs rose in 23 states and fell in 27. The largest payroll job percent increase was 0.4 percent in Delaware and Montana. The largest payroll job percent decline was 0.3 percent in Kansas and Nebraska.

New Hampshire

Employment snapshot

• In December, New Hampshire lost 1,000 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage point to 3.1 percent. In the prior month, New Hampshire lost 2,300 net payroll jobs.

• Over the past 12 months, New Hampshire lost 6,000 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage points from 2.8 percent.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 50,000 in December, or 0 percent. New Hampshire ranks 50th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• In December, New Hampshire’s private sector lost 1,200 net private payroll jobs, and over the past 12 months it lost 5,700 private payroll jobs. In the prior month, New Hampshire lost 2,600 net private payroll jobs.

• In December, employment in New Hampshire rose by 300, and over the past 12 months it fell by 1,967.

• New Hampshire’s labor force participation rate remained steady at 65.3 percent in December and ranks 12th in the nation. In the past 12 months, the labor force participation rate has fallen by 0.4 percentage points.

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New Hampshire

Payroll employment

• New Hampshire lost 1,000 net payroll jobs, or -0.1 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during December. In the prior month, New Hampshire lost 2,300 jobs. New Hampshire nonfarm payroll employment has increased in 3 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 50,000 in December, or 0 percent. New Hampshire ranks 50th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• New Hampshire lost 1,200 private sector jobs, or -0.2 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during December. In the prior month, New Hampshire lost 2,600 jobs. New Hampshire private sector payroll employment has increased in 4 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, private sector payroll jobs rose by 37,000 jobs in December, or 0 percent. New Hampshire ranks 50th in the nation for percentage gain in private sector payroll employment over the past 12 months.

From November 2025 to December 2025:

• The best performing sectors were Private Education and Health Services (+400) and Professional and Business Services (+200).
• The worst performing sectors were Leisure and Hospitality (-800) and Manufacturing (-500).

From December 2024 to December 2025:

• The best performing sectors were Professional and Business Services (+2,800) and Private Education and Health Services (+1,400).
• The worst performing sectors were Leisure and Hospitality (-6,600) and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (-3,900).

New Hampshire

Labor force

The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the civilian noninstitutionalized population age 16 and older who are employed or actively looking for work.

• The labor force participation rate in New Hampshire remained unchanged at 65.3 percent in December.

• New Hampshire ranks 12th in the nation.

• The 10-year high for the labor force participation rate in New Hampshire was 69 percent occurring in September 2019, and the 10-year low was 65.1 percent occurring in October 2021.

• The national labor force participation rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 62.4 percent in December.