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New Hampshire Employment Security - an official New Hampshire Government web site
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About Us


NH Employment Security (NHES) is a federally funded state agency. In 1933 the State Employment Service was created, first known as the National Reemployment Service. In 1934, the Wagner-Peyser Act passed. In 1935, the Social Security Act passed. Title III and Title IX establish the framework for the states to pass laws setting up unemployment compensation systems. In November of 1935, New Hampshire Unemployment Law became effective. Today NHES has 12 local offices located across the state to provide services to job seekers and employers.

2022 Annual Report Adobe Acrobat file
Meet the Commissioner
Advisory Council on Unemployment Compensation

Career Opportunities
Equal Opportunity Statement
NHES Privacy Policy

The mission of NHES is to:

  • Operate a free public Employment Service through a statewide network of Job and Information Centers, providing a broad range of assisted and self-directed employment and career related services, and labor market information to all customers.
  • Pay Unemployment Compensation benefits in a timely manner to eligible claimants and collect the tax which funds these payments.
  • Develop and disseminate labor market information and provide measurements of labor market outcome to assist local and state officials, private employers, educators and trainers and the public in making decisions which promote economic development and the efficient use of state labor resources.

The State of New Hampshire Employment Security agency bureaus and their mission statements/purpose are listed below:

  • Unemployment Compensation Bureau (UCB)
    • Pay benefits to eligible claimants temporarily unemployed or underemployed through no fault of their own. Benefits are paid to former employees of private industry, state and local governments.
    • Collect taxes from employers to fund the benefit payments.
  • Employment Service Bureau and Operations (ESB)
    The mission of the Employment Service Bureau and Operations is to: Operate a free public Employment Service which benefits the job seeker, the employer, and the economy, by helping people find work through work search programs, employment information and economic and labor market information; and by assisting employers with job openings, and economic and labor market information which benefits the employer in making informed decisions about their business, relative to the economy.
  • Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau (ELMI)
    The Bureau develops and disseminates labor market information and measures labor market outcomes to assist public officials, private employers, educators and trainers, and the public in making decisions that promote economic opportunity and the efficient use of state labor resources. ELMI is the resource for employment statistics, demographics, and economic and labor market information in New Hampshire, including the Unemployment Rate.

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New Hampshire Employment Security (NHES)
45 South Fruit Street  |  Concord NH 03301  |  603-224-3311  |  1-800-852-3400
TDD Access: Relay NH 1-800-735-2964