In a long-ish overview of NH's economic situation, Bob Sanders of NH Business Review fishes around for some clarity about where the economy is going.
“We are back from where we were,” summed up Annette Nielsen, an economist with the state Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau at the New Hampshire Employment Security. “But the economy looks different.”
The state regained all the jobs it lost during the Great Recession. Bankruptcies and foreclosures are at pre-recession levels. Home prices are almost where they were in 2006.
On the other hand, while there are the same number of unemployed people, half of them have been out of work for more than half a year, compared to 10 percent before the recession, Nielsen pointed out, and many of those are working in transient, part time or lower paying jobs.
So have we entered a new normal?
Wherever we are, it has taken us long enough to get there. The state and nation has been in recovery mode for more than five years, and none of those years went like gangbusters. Yes, 2014 was better than most, much to the relief of many businesses, but economists are not exactly enthused by it.
“We plodded along,” was the best Russ Thibeault of Applied Economic Research of Laconia could say. “We have improved for the most part, but not as quickly as we would like.” He added: “Looking forward to next year, much of the same.”
One and a half cheers I guess.