DURHAM, N.H. - New Hampshire's population of young workers grew between 2004 and 2006, reversing the traditional brain drain of young people leaving the state, according to a recent study.
Between 2004 and 2006, the young labor force in New Hampshire grew 3.9 percent - from 148,953 to 154,711 - in contrast to a 6.9 percent drop in the population of 25-to-34-year-olds between 2000 and 2004, according a study by the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire.
Ross Gittell, a UNH management professor and the study's author, said it is too soon to know whether the recent reversal is a trend or simply a statistical blip.
"It's hard to say two years is a trend, but I think it's positive that [employers and colleges] are addressing the issue," he said.
He noted that there is a strong demand for young workers in New Hampshire. The state has the fifth-lowest percentage of young workers in the country.
Peggy Zola, 30, who graduated from Southern New Hampshire University in 2007, said she and her husband discussed moving but decided against it. She's now a third-grade teacher in Goffstown.
