HIGH prices and low supply have continued to exacerbate housing issues nationwide. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in October last year found that about half of Americans (49 percent) say the availability of affordable housing in their local community is a major problem, up 10 percentage points from early 2018.

IN that same survey, adults living in lower-income households (57 percent) say availability of affordable housing is a major issue in their community, whereas those in middle- (47 percent) or upperincome households (42 percent) say affordable housing is a major problem.

IN the first half of 2022, 65 percent of U.S. businesses will be hiring for new positions, with 33 percent of employers looking to fill vacated roles, based on findings from a Robert Half survey. The practice area looking to gain the most is administrative and customer support, at 72 percent, followed by marketing (69 percent), human resources (68 percent) and technology (68 percent). Of those employers planning to add new positions, 72 percent have between 500 and 999 employees.

ACCORDING to TravelStats.com, New Hampshire’s leisure and hospitality industry had 17,000 more employees in summer 2021 than a year prior, when the industry was experiencing low employment rates in the middle of the pandemic. The uptick could be a result of the lifted restrictions and a higher vaccination rate leading to more job opportunities.

IN 2021, New Hampshire had a total of 137,811 small businesses (with less than 500 employees), based on data from the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy. The highest number of small businesses (21,207) was primarily in the professional, scientific and technical services industries. Construction followed closely behind with 20,484 small businesses in New Hampshire.