By KAREN SPILLER, Telegraph Staff

Published: Friday, Oct. 15, 2004

CONCORD - The state unemployment rate continues to gradually go down, decreasing by two-tenths of a percentage point, from 3.7 percent in August to 3.5 percent in September, according to state figures released Thursday.

The state has seen an increase of 30 jobs in September from August, an increase of almost 12,000 jobs since September 2003, according to the state.

The unemployment rate stayed at 3.9 percent from April through July, then dropped to 3.7 percent in August, then 3.5 percent in September, according to state figures.

September’s New Hampshire unemployment rate was an improvement over the same time last year, when it was 4.3 percent.

The unadjusted September unemployment rate for New Hampshire was 3.3 percent, down 0.4 percentage points from the August rate, which was unchanged with revision. The September 2003 unadjusted rate was 4.1 percent.

“In both instances, the rates did decrease, so it is showing a positive side as far as the unemployment rate goes,” said Dana Cudworth, research analyst at the state Department of Employment Security. “Overall, things are looking better.”

The number of unemployment claims dropped by about 1,700, Cudworth said. There were roughly 6,400 unemployment claims in August and 4,700 in September.

“On a claims side, that’s looking positive as well,” Cudworth said.

Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for September was 5.4 percent, which was unchanged from the August rate and down 0.7 percentage points from the September 2003 rate.

The national unadjusted rate for September was 5.1 percent, a decrease of 0.3 percentage points from the August rate and a decrease of 0.7 percentage points from the September 2003 rate.

New Hampshire’s seasonally adjusted number of employed residents increased to 703,760 in September, up 30 from August and up 11,930 from September 2003.

The number of unemployed residents decreased 1,100 over the month to 25,640. This was 5,250 fewer unemployed than in September of last year. From August to September 2004, the total labor force decreased by 1,070 to 729,400. This was an increase of 6,680 from September 2003.