The unemployment rate in December rose 3 tenths of a percent to 7%. Officially, there were about 52,000 unemployed residents compared to 686,000 employed residents. There was a small drop, about 1,700, in the overall size of the labor force between November and December.

Even as there are signs of economic recovery, the recession’s impact on families continues to grow. As of December, Food Stamps were helping to feed just about 99,300 residents. By way of context, that’s about a 65 percent increase since before the recession hit.

Nationally, after the last big downturn, the one in the early 1990’s, food stamp rolls continued to grow for another ...

State unemployment in November fell slightly. The seasonally adjusted rate was 6.7 percent, one tenth of a percent less than in October. About 2 thousand more people had work compared to the previous month, but compared to November a year ago, there are nearly 20 thousand more people without jobs.

According to the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority's data, 8.54% of home owners fell behind on their mortgage payments between July and September of 2009, 2.47% higher than during the same period in 2008. National and regional delinquency rates were also at record highs. New Hampshire is still faring better than the national average, but delinquency and foreclosure rates are ...