CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) and House Majority Leader Pete Silva (R-Nashua) today offered the following comments regarding the release of New Hampshire’s unemployment data from May. The seasonally adjusted rate remained at 5%, unchanged from April’s data.
House Speaker William O’Brien
“While New Hampshire has among the lowest unemployment rates in the nation, there is much more that we need to do to get our economy on the fast track. It is discouraging that our work force is now following the national trend and has decreased for the second month in a row, so we need to do more to give our employers confidence to hire new workers. That’s why we hope the governor will sign House Bill 1418, which includes tax relief for our employers, including an increase of 33% in the business enterprise tax exemption, which will mean that 1/3rd of our businesses – all of which are small businesses – will no longer have to pay that payroll tax. The bill also includes tax relief for businesses to depreciate capital purchases as well as an elimination of the Internet tax. These are common sense, pro-jobs items that will create a better environment for hiring new workers here.”
House Majority Leader Pete Silva
“The fact that our unemployment figures are staying low while the national rate is increasing is a testament to the work done by this legislature, and we have passed a number of great bills this year that will continue our momentum. This includes 40 bills to reduce regulation this session, to go along with the 43 laws that this legislature passed last year to lift the burden from the backs of our employers. The House Republicans will continue our efforts to create a low tax, limited government environment that creates more new jobs for our citizens.”