New Hampshire's unemployment rate dropped to roughly 5 percent in April, significantly lower than the national unemployment rate of 8.1 percent, CBS News reported. This rate marks the lowest percentage since December 2008, when the state reported a 4.8 percent unemployment rate, according to CBS News. Gov. John Lynch, D-N.H., said the news is a good sign for the state's economy and noted that more than 6,800 New Hampshire residents found jobs in the past year, but the state is still home to 37,000 unemployed residents, CBS News reported.
The New Hampshire legislature voted on bills on Wednesday that would give over $3 million in tax credits to businesses that donated to scholarship organizations that fund underprivileged students who attend public or private schools, CBS News reported. The House version of the bill stipulates that these scholarships would provide each recipient a maximum of $2,500 adjusted annually, according to CBS News. The House approved the bill by a vote of 236-97 and the Senate passed its version by a vote of 17-7. Supporters praised the bills for the flexibility it gives parents in decisions about their children's educations, CBS News reported. Some members had concerns about the constitutionality of using the funding in religious schools and the possibility that the scholarships would divert money from public schools, according to CBS News.
New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that more highly educated people and their families are likely to live longer and have healthier lives, according to Inside Higher Education. The findings included statistics on smoking, life expectancy and obesity. In 2006, the average life expectancy of a 25-year-old man with a bachelor's degree or higher was 9.3 years longer than that of a man the same age without a high school diploma. Between 2007 and 2010, women over 25 years old with less than a bachelor's degree were at least 15 percent more likely to be obese than those with a bachelor's degree or higher, Inside Higher Ed reported. Higher rates of smoking were also more prevalent in less educated people. In 2010, 31 percent of adults between 25 and 64 years of age with a high school diploma or less were smokers, according to Inside Higher Ed. In comparison, 24 percent of adults with some college education and 9 percent of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher were smokers, Inside Higher Ed reported.
