Production Worker, Helpers Are The Fastest Growing Jobs In NH

CONCORD, NH — A new study of job growth in the United States shows that some of the fastest growing job sectors in places like New Hampshire are still industrial-based even as other sectors, like personal care aides and finance, continue to grow nationally. The study by CommercialCafe.com analyzed Bureau of Labor Statistics data nationwide as well as each state to find out the hottest occupations between 2009 and 2018. In New Hampshire, it was production workers and helpers, which increased by 273 percent during the last decade.

Unemployment in New Hampshire is at historical lows – around 2.6 percent – while the rate nationally is its lowest since the 1950s. Last year, more than 648,000 people were employed in the Granite State, the study said. In 2018, nearly 39 percent of Granite State workers were employed in the business sector while more than 19 percent were in the industrial sector. More than 13 percent were working in the health care sector.

"When broken out by industry type on the state level, we see that business and health care jobs have grown the most in 30 of the 48 continental states," noted Patrick McGregor, a senior writer at Commercial Café.

While New Hampshire's population is aging and birth rates are low, the same is true for the rest of the nation. It's one of the reasons that person care aides, according to the study, was the fastest growing job sector in the United States – more than 251 percent during the last 10 years.

Massachusetts saw more than 60,000 new personal care aide jobs created during the last decade. In neighboring Vermont, health care employees – specifically, substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors – saw the largest employment gains, as that state deals with its own opioid crisis. In Maine, human resource specialists saw the biggest gains in new positions.

Marketing specialists and financial examiners also saw large gains nationally. About one-third of all American jobs are in four states: California, New York, Texas, and Florida, according to the study.

Read the full report at CommercialCafe.com.

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