New Hampshire has lost a larger percentage of jobs to China over the last decade than any other state, according to a report released by the Economic Policy Institute last month. The 16,300 jobs lost in New Hampshire roughly 2.35 percent of total state employment are mainly the result of increased imports of computers, electronic equipment and parts, according to EPI's web site. An increasing amount of trade between the United States and China in recent years has led to the loss of 2.4 million jobs between 2001 and 2008, according to the report. Low worker wages as well as the manipulation of Chinese currency to keep the value of the yuan low despite growing exports are largely responsible for these job losses, according to the report. New Hampshire, which is responsible for a large sector of the United States' electronic and computer parts industry, suffered a decrease in demand for its goods in the early 2000s, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported Wednesday. As a result, technology manufacturing companies sought to produce goods more cheaply in China, according to the Union Leader. The growth of jobs in hospitality, retail and financial service industries, however, has allowed New Hampshire to remain among the states with the lowest rates of unemployment in the country, the Union Leader reported.
Hanover School Board members have eliminated $142,100 from the budget proposed for next year in an effort to get the spending plan passed, the Valley News reported. The previously suggested $11.2 million budget, which would have raised the Hanover school tax rate by almost 5 percent, was defeated by voters on March 2, according to the Valley News. The proposal would also require the Dresden School Board to make cuts of $440,000 from its proposed $22.7 million budget, as the Hanover school tax rate is determined by both the Hanover and Dresden budgets, the Valley News reported.
