NH unemployment agency lays off 72 workers
PORTSMOUTH, N.H.—New Hampshire's latest unemployment rate is 5.2 percent, one of the lowest rates in the country. But part of that percentage includes people who work at the unemployment office.
Tara Reardon, commissioner of New Hampshire's Department of Employment Security, tells the Portsmouth Herald (http://bit.ly/sxwPpt) that the federally funded agency is laying off 53 full-time employees and 19 part-time workers across the state.
Reardon says the notices went out during the past week and they'll be effective Jan. 13. She says that's a $3 million savings over the year.
The layoffs come as New Hampshire experiences a 30-percent decline in unemployment claims compared to 18 months ago. Reardon said that's good as far as the economy goes, but bad for her agency because its funding falls as unemployment claims drop.
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Information from: Portsmouth Herald, http://www.seacoastonline.com
