BASED on a national survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Association, most Americans are opting to stay home this holiday season. Results showed that only 29 percent of Americans are likely to travel for Thanksgiving and 33 percent are likely to travel for Christmas, an increase from 21 percent and 24 percent respectively, compared to 2020. Despite rising gas prices, 68 percent of Thanksgiving travelers and 64 percent of Christmas travelers plan to drive to their destinations.

EVEN though comfort levels are increasing with higher vaccination rates, it appears people are still opting to stay in familiar territory. Of those traveling for the holidays, 66 percent are planning to stay with family and friends, while 23 percent plan to stay in a hotel, based on findings from that same AHLA survey.

HERE’S some good news going into the holiday season: New Hampshire ranks No. 7 in the top 10 states where credit card debt is becoming more manageable. Since 2018, credit card debt for Granite State residents has dropped 9.82 percent, with debt accounting for 7.05 percent of a person’s income.

SELF-EMPLOYED workers in the U.S. have bounced back stronger than others since the pandemic. Based on Pew Research Center findings, there was a 17.6 percent increase of self-employed workers actively remaining at work from the second quarter of 2020 to the second quarter of 2021. This increase brings the total number of self-employed workers to 14.9 million nationwide.

WHILE the self-employed are actively at work, hiring workers still remains a struggle. The Pew Research Center also found that the number of workers hired by the self-employed fell in 2021 and currently stands below its 2019 level. Before the pandemic, the self-employed had 31 million workers on their payroll, but now in 2021, that number has fallen to 28 million.