U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Bureau of Labor Statistics > Geographic Information > Northeast > News Release
News Release Information

26-295-BOS
Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (646) 264-3600

New Hampshire Job Openings and Labor Turnover — December 2025

New Hampshire had 25,000 job openings in December 2025, compared to 36,000 openings in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table 1.) Acting Regional Commissioner Michael G. Phinney noted that the job openings rate in New Hampshire was 3.4 percent in December and 4.8 percent in the previous month. (See chart 1 and table 2.) The job openings rate nationally was 3.9 percent in December and 4.2 percent in November. (See table 3.) All data in this release are seasonally adjusted.

  Line chart of job openings as a percent of employment for the United States and New Hampshire, December 2021 to December 2025, seasonally adjusted. Accessible version is available in View Chart Data link below the chart.
View Chart Data

The ratio of unemployed persons per job opening in New Hampshire was 1.0 in December. Nationwide, 28 states and the District of Columbia had ratios in December that were lower than the national measure of 1.1 unemployed persons per job opening; 13 states had ratios that were higher than the national ratio, and 9 states had ratios equal to the national measure. (See map 1.) 

Map 1. Number of unemployed persons per job opening by state, December 2025, seasonally adjusted

(U.S. ratio = 1.1)

In December, New Hampshire had 19,000 hires and 28,000 separations, compared to 28,000 hires and 23,000 separations in November. (See chart 2.) Over the 12 months ending in December, hires have averaged 25,000 per month and separations have averaged 26,000 per month. These averages include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year.

  Line chart of hires and total separations in New Hampshire, December 2021 to December 2025, seasonally adjusted (in thousands). Accessible version is available in View Chart Data link below the chart.
View Chart Data

Among the December separations in New Hampshire, 15,000 were quits and 11,000 were layoffs and discharges, compared to 13,000 quits and 9,000 layoffs and discharges in November. (See chart 3.) Over the year, quits averaged 14,000 per month, ranging from 13,000 to 15,000. Layoffs and discharges have averaged 10,000 per month, ranging from 8,000 to 12,000.

  Line chart of quits and layoffs and discharges in New Hampshire, December 2021 to December 2025, seasonally adjusted (in thousands). Accessible version is available in View Chart Data link below the chart.
View Chart Data
Upcoming Change to the JOLTS State Estimates

The national State Job Openings and Labor Turnover news release will move from a monthly news release to an annual news release. The first annual news release will be in July 2026. Going forward, monthly estimates for the prior calendar year will be published each year along with the annual news release. The annual news release will incorporate benchmark revisions to JOLTS national estimates, updated Current Employment Statistics (CES) employment estimates, and updated Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data.


Technical Note

This news release presents statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The JOLTS program provides information on labor demand and turnover. The state estimates produced by JOLTS are model-based, incorporating JOLTS sample, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), and Current Employment Statistics (CES) estimates. For more information see the JOLTS State Estimates Methodology.

Job Openings. Job openings include all positions that are open on the last business day of the reference month. A job is open only if it meets all three of these conditions:

  • A specific position exists and there is work available for that position.
  • The job could start within 30 days.
  • The employer is actively recruiting workers from outside the establishment to fill the position.

The number of unemployed persons per job opening is a ratio of the level of unemployed persons and the level of job openings. The number of unemployed persons at the national level is an estimate from the Current Population Survey (CPS), while state-level unemployment estimates are modeled by the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program. A ratio of 1.0 means there is a job available for every unemployed person. Lower ratios signal tighter labor markets, where firms have more job openings than there are unemployed persons available to work. Higher ratios indicate there are more unemployed persons competing for each job opening.

Hires. Hires include all additions to the payroll during the entire reference month.

Separations. Separations include all separations from the payroll during the entire reference month and are reported by type of separation: quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations.

  • Quits include employees who left voluntarily, except for retirements or transfers to other locations.
  • Layoffs and discharges include involuntary separations initiated by the employer.
  • Other separations include retirements, transfers to other locations, separations due to employee disability, and deaths.

Levels and rates of other separations represent a small portion of total separations and are not published with the release of state estimates.

Complete definitions, including exclusions, and additional information about the State JOLTS data presented in this release are available in the State Job Openings and Labor Turnover Technical Note.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Table 1. Job openings and labor turnover for New Hampshire, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Estimate December 2024 September 2025 October 2025 November 2025 December 2025(p) Change from November 2025 to December 2025(p)

Openings

 32 37 38 36 25 -11

Hires

 16 25 28 28 19 -9

Total separations

 22 26 26 23 28 5

Quits

 13 13 13 13 15 2

Layoffs & discharges

 7 10 12 9 11 2

Footnotes:
(p) Preliminary.
Table 2. Job openings and labor turnover rates for New Hampshire, seasonally adjusted
Estimate December 2024 September 2025 October 2025 November 2025 December 2025(p) Change from November 2025 to December 2025(p)

Openings(1)

 4.3 5.0 5.1 4.8 3.4 -1.4

Hires(2)

 2.2 3.5 3.9 4.0 2.7 -1.3

Total separations(3)

 3.1 3.7 3.7 3.3 4.0 0.7

Quits(3)

 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 2.1 0.3

Layoffs & discharges(3)

 1.0 1.4 1.7 1.3 1.6 0.3

Footnotes:
(p) Preliminary.
(1) The job openings rate is computed by dividing the number of job openings by the sum of employment and job openings and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(2) The hires rate is computed by dividing the number of hires by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(3) The separations rate is computed by dividing the number of separations by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100. The quits and layoffs and discharges rates are computed similarly.
Table 3. Job openings and labor turnover rates for the United States, seasonally adjusted
Estimate December 2024 September 2025 October 2025 November 2025 December 2025(p) Change from November 2025 to December 2025(p)

Openings(1)

 4.5 4.6 4.5 4.2 3.9 -0.3

Hires(2)

 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.2 3.3 0.1

Total separations(3)

 3.2 3.3 3.2 3.2 3.3 0.1

Quits(3)

 1.9 2.0 1.9 2.0 2.0 0.0

Layoffs & discharges(3)

 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.1 0.0

Footnotes:
(p) Preliminary.
(1) The job openings rate is computed by dividing the number of job openings by the sum of employment and job openings and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(2) The hires rate is computed by dividing the number of hires by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(3) The separations rate is computed by dividing the number of separations by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100. The quits and layoffs and discharges rates are computed similarly.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2026