New Hampshire ranked tops for anyone on a job hunt, study finds

With the unemployment rate at 4.1 percent and labor force participation at one of the highest levels in years, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the Best and Worst States for Jobs in 2024, to help those still seeking jobs find the best locations for their new careers.

WalletHub compared the 50 states across 34 key indicators of job-market strength and economic vitality. The data set ranges from employment growth to the median annual income to the average commute time.

Finding a Job in New Hampshire (1=Best; 25=Avg.):

• Overall rank for New Hampshire: 1^st
• 3^rd - Job Opportunities
• 7^th - Employment Growth
• 23^rd - Monthly Average Starting Salary
• 1^st - Unemployment Rate
• 12^th - Median Annual Income (Adjusted for Cost of Living)
• 20^th - Avg. Length of Work Week (in Hours)

"Living in one of the best states for jobs can provide stable conditions for the long-term, helping you ride out the fluctuations that the economy will experience in the future. The best states for jobs make it easier for residents to find and retain jobs, and employers in these states also offer very competitive compensation and benefits. In addition, the top states are great places for people looking to raise a family, ranking among the best states for working parents."
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"New Hampshire is the best state for jobs, in large part because it has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, at just 2%, and the third-most job opportunities per capita. In addition, the number of available jobs in New Hampshire increases by around 1.7% per year, the seventh-highest in the nation. Once people get jobs in New Hampshire, they're also likely to keep them, as the state has the seventh-best job security. To top things off, New Hampshire has the lowest percentage of the workforce living in poverty, which demonstrates that workers are generally receiving reasonable pay."

Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst


Expert Commentary

What types of jobs do you think are most threatened by automation/the rise of robots? What jobs are least threatened?

"Right now, most of the jobs that are most threatened seem to be those that are easy to automate. For example, service workers (e.g. cashiers in grocery stores, servers, etc.) and manufacturing jobs where some routine tasks can be done by machines. That will change as AI becomes more sophisticated and can start to take on more and more complex tasks. We even see AI starting to do tasks such as scheduling, basic intake information and note taking for health care professionals, etc."
Saba Rasheed Ali, Ph.D. - Professor; Associate Dean for Research, University of Iowa

"I believe that marketing/copywriting, librarians, commercial real estate developers/brokers/agents, as well as many types of assembly line work will be, and are, greatly impacted by AI/automation/robots. However, salesperson, food purveyors, mechanics, technicians, healthcare workers, energy providers, people in technology, construction workers/home builders, plumbers, electricians, and other repairpersons are, and will be, the least threatened."
Daniel E. Goldberg, Ed.D. - Associate Professor; Academic Director of the Business Management BBA Program, Temple University


What fields are expected to experience the highest rate of job growth in the next 10 years?

"If COVID has taught us anything it is the difficulty of predicting the immediate future, no less 10 years out. It's tempting to gesture toward emergent jobs in tech, health professions, data analytics, and AI. There's been less discussion about job growth in the service sector. We need and will increasingly need skilled labor such as electricians, plumbers, automotive technicians, construction workers, transportation providers, teachers, therapists, nurses, social workers, tax accountants, etc. Our growing retirement demographic will out-consume the current senior/social services available stimulating job growth across the sector."
Don Kjelleren - Executive Director, '68 Center for Career Exploration, Williams College

"It seems there will likely always be a demand for healthcare professionals such as nurses, doctors, therapists (physical, respiratory) and mental health professionals, but there is also a growing need for those jobs in the data and technology sectors (data analysts, etc.) and renewable energy sector (wind technician) that are also growing."
Saba Rasheed Ali, Ph.D. - Professor; Associate Dean for Research, University of Iowa


What can we expect from the job market in 2025?

"In 2025, the U.S. job market is expected to remain dynamic, with technology reshaping many sectors. I see high demand roles will center around a combination of technical (particularly digital), statistical and data, and human relation skills. This will require workers to develop skills that are portable across multiple types of jobs. Organizations need adaptable skill sets that can be used across the organization. In other words, employment will become less about a specific job and more about a set of skills that can be used as needed by the organization."
C. Darren Brooks, Ph.D. - MBA Program Director; Assistant Department Chair; Senior Lecturer, Florida State University

"According to a report from the World Economic forum, job displacement due to technological advances will unfold. We will see job displacement for certain types of work-related tasks and jobs while there will likely be more steady growth in jobs that require managing, advising, decision making."
Saba Rasheed Ali, Ph.D. - Professor; Associate Dean for Research, University of Iowa