New Hampshire unemployment claims continue their stubborn climb

The new Biden administration is coming into power with a stagnant national economy, and New Hampshire’s is no exception. In fact, things looked worse in the Granite State last week.

Some 3,891 initial unemployment claims were filed in the week ending Jan. 16. That’s 27% more than the number reported a week earlier.

Meanwhile, 28,871 continuing claims – people already collecting benefits – were filed in the week ending Jan. 9, a 6% increase, after a 13% increase the previous week.

Those numbers reflect claims for Granite Staters receiving assistance from the state. There were also more than 14,000 federal continuing claims filed the week ending Jan. 2, which includes gig workers, business owners or those staying home because of dependent-care issues or exposure to the virus.

Both state and federal claims include $300 weekly enhancements, which President Biden is proposing to increase to $400.

Nationally, there were 900,000 new claims, a slight decline after a sharp increase from the previous week and 5.1 million continued claims, down from last week but almost what it was the week before that.

New Hampshire’s unemployment rate for December was 4%, a slight increase from November. The December 2019 seasonally adjusted rate was 2.6%.