Is unemployment uptick a concern in NH? Rate has ticked up to 3% after hovering around 2% for two yearsemail0LinkedinPrintDuring the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, New Hampshire’s unemployment rate soared to 16%, with some 120,000 Granite Staters out of work. As the pandemic eased and the nation’s economic health recovered, so did the unemployment rate here, settling into a pattern of unemployment percentages in the low 2% range through 2023 and 2024. So far this year, however, the unemployment rate is ticking up, reaching 3% in February and 3.1% in March through July, and dipping slightly back to 3% in August. Some caution and concern for the state economy has come from the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute (NHFPI).