By Granite State Report
New Hampshire’s kids won’t be asking only “What job will I get?” so much as “How will I create value, meaning, and security in a world where jobs are modular, automated, and optional?” This policy playbook is a pragmatic roadmap for the Granite State to thrive as AI, automation, and platformization reshape work. It mixes near-term moves (this biennium) with structural reforms (this decade), grounded in evidence from New Hampshire’s own data plus global pilots and research.
Why plan now
- AI will alter most jobs, fast. The IMF estimates AI will affect ~40% of jobs worldwide and ~60% in advanced economies. That doesn’t mean all those jobs vanish; it means tasks, wages, demand, and required skills shift—sometimes dramatically. (IMF)
- NH’s growth is modest and uneven. State projections show employment rising from ~719,300 (2022) to ~761,300 (2032) (+42,000, ~5.8%). Good news—but not a rising tide for everyone, and the mix of occupations is changing. (New Hampshire Employment Security)
- Openings outpace available workers. In July 2025, NH had ~34,000 job openings (4.6% rate), with only 0.7 unemployed people per opening—classic mismatch. We must align people → tasks → tools. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Translation: The future isn’t “no work.” It’s different work—more fluid, more augmented by AI, and less likely to look like a single 40-year career. The goal is to help Granite Staters build portfolio livelihoods—resilient mixes of paid projects, human-only roles, entrepreneurship, and community value—backed by modern safety nets.
Strategic Anchors (what’s true across all proposals)
- Human + Machine, by design: treat AI as co-worker; reserve humans for judgment, empathy, creativity, and stewardship. (Brookings finds >30% of workers could see at least half their tasks disrupted by gen-AI—plan for complementarity, not just substitution.) (Brookings)
- Skills that compound: focus on meta-skills (learn-to-learn, digital/AI fluency, systems thinking) and stackable credentials that keep paying off as tools change. (WEF 2025: employers expect major transformation through 2030.) (World Economic Forum)
- Access everywhere: broadband and shared workspaces make rural towns opportunity hubs, not dead ends. (NH to receive ~$196.5M BEAD funding.) (NH Economy)
- Dignity without a W-2: build income resilience that isn’t tethered to a single employer (take lessons from Alaska’s dividend and guaranteed-income pilots). (Permanent Fund Dividend)
The Playbook (12 concrete proposals)
1) K-12 “AI & Agency” Core (every student, every grade)
What: Statewide standards that embed AI literacy (how models work and fail), promptcraft, data hygiene, and ethics into math/ELA/social studies; capstone in grades 8 and 12 producing a human-machine project (e.g., a local-history chatbot evaluated for bias and accuracy).
Why: Skills must outlast specific tools; kids should direct AI, not be replaced by it. (Employers expect sweeping skills change by 2030.) (World Economic Forum)
How: DOE issues AI & Agency standards; leverage NH Tech Alliance’s task force for governance guardrails; partner UNH for teacher micro-certs. (New Hampshire Tech Alliance)
2) Granite Skills Credits (adult learning that never expires)
What: A permanent, portable learning purse for every adult (18+) with an initial $500–$1,000 in Granite Skills Credits redeemable for approved micro-credentials (AI tools, cloud, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, green tech, caregiving). Annual top-ups for low-income residents.
Why: Singapore’s SkillsFuture shows the power of universal, stackable upskilling credits. Make reskilling routine, not remedial. (SkillsFuture SG)
How: Start with $25M pilot (ARPA/BEAD synergy + state funds), publish outcomes dashboard (completion, wage effects).
3) NH Four-Day Week Pilots (state agencies & willing employers)
What: Offer competitive grants + technical assistance for 100–80–100 pilots (100% pay, 80% time, 100% output) in select agencies, municipalities, and SMEs; independent evaluation with public metrics.
Why: The UK’s world-largest trial saw most firms keep the policy; evidence suggests productivity & wellbeing gains, lower turnover. Start with functions suited to output metrics. (The Guardian)
How: One-year pilot, then opt-in expansion; publish template KPIs and toolkits.
4) “Rural Remotes” Broadband + Coworking Hubs
What: Use BEAD dollars to tie fiber expansion to micro-hubs: publicly accessible sites with private phone booths, high-bandwidth, and childcare blocks; host apprenticeship meetups and remote-work job fairs.
Why: Broadband access is necessary but not sufficient; hubs turn connectivity into livelihoods. (NH Economy)
How: EDA-style challenge grants to towns that co-locate hubs with libraries/schools.
5) Statewide “Human-Only Work” Corps
What: Fund and credential roles that are hard to automate—elder care companions, peer mental-health supporters, outdoor/ecosystem stewards, arts-in-community fellows. Stipends + portable benefits.
Why: As automation eats routine tasks, human-relational work becomes priceless—and it compounds social capital.
How: Start with 1,000 slots; braid Medicaid waivers, philanthropic matches, and municipal contracts.
6) Automation Transition Benefits (ATB)
What: If a worker’s tasks are automated, offer ATB: wage insurance (time-limited), Granite Skills Credits boost, and a re-employment navigator.
Why: Denmark’s “flexicurity” pairs flexible labor markets with real security and active labor measures—don’t fear churn; cushion it. (American Economic Association)
How: Create an ATB fund administered by Employment Security; require participating employers to share task-impact notices.
7) Public-Sector “Human-in-the-Loop” Rule
What: Any state AI system that touches rights/benefits must (a) provide a human appeal path, (b) publish model cards & error audits, and (c) log human overrides.
Why: Trust is table stakes, especially when bureaucracy meets black boxes. Aligns with NH Tech Alliance’s responsible-AI aims. (New Hampshire Tech Alliance)
8) Open Automation Impact Assessments (AIA)
What: Require large employers receiving state incentives to publish an Automation Impact Assessment: which tasks are automated, reskilling plans, net job effects, and local supplier impacts.
Why: Sunlight helps communities plan; it also nudges “augment vs. replace.” (WEF/Brookings both emphasize task-level change.) (World Economic Forum)
9) Granite Creator & Micro-Enterprise Fund
What: A revolving micro-equity/royalty fund for solo creators, side-hustlers, and platform co-ops (craft, tourism, VR history tours, edu-tech), with AI-tool credits bundled.
Why: In a portfolio-work era, micro-ventures are the new small businesses.
How: Seed with $10M; partner CDFIs; priority for rural and low-income applicants.
10) Automation Dividend Pilot (evidence-seeking UBI variant)
What: 1,000 households get $500/month for 24 months (randomized controlled trial), funded via philanthropic/state match; measure effects on employment, mental health, entrepreneurship, caregiving.
Why: Stockton’s SEED RCT found improved financial stability, mental health, and increased full-time employment among recipients; Alaska’s PFD shows durable design options. NH needs its own evidence. (Economic Security Project)
How: Independent evaluation with UNH; publish de-identified microdata.
11) NH Skills Exchange (earn credits by learning + serving)
What: A platform where residents earn Granite Credits for completing in-demand trainings and doing community work (tutoring, elder tech help). Credits discount state fees, course costs, or transit.
Why: Aligns incentives and builds civic capacity—think “Duolingo streak meets AmeriCorps.”
12) A “Next-Work” Data Dashboard
What: A public dashboard tracking openings, wage trends, automation-risk indicators, credential completions, and pilot outcomes—down to county level.
Why: You can’t steer what you can’t see. Use BLS JOLTS series + NHES projections + pilot telemetry. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
What this means for specific NH sectors
- Healthcare & Care Economy: Shortages meet automation of documentation and scheduling; expand human-touch roles (companionship, behavioral health) while training staff on AI scribes and triage tools. (Brookings: gen-AI disrupts high-skill tasks too—plan for re-bundling care work.) (Brookings)
- Advanced Manufacturing: Double down on cobots + AI quality control; talent pipeline via paid apprenticeships and Granite Skills Credits.
- Education: Shift from content coverage to capabilities labs; every high school runs an AI-augmented community project.
- Tourism & Creative: Incentivize immersive storytelling, heritage VR, and creator studios tied to micro-hubs.
Costs, funding ideas, and timeline (sketch)
- Near-term (Year 1–2): Standards for K-12 AI & Agency; launch Granite Skills Credits ($25M pilot); set up Four-Day Week pilots ($3–5M); stand up two Rural Remote hubs (BEAD + local match); publish dashboard prototype. (NH Economy)
- Mid-term (Year 3–5): ATB fund; Human-Only Work Corps; Creator Fund; Automation Impact Assessments requirement for new incentive deals.
- Long-term (Year 5+): Evaluate Automation Dividend Pilot; scale what works; consider permanent Automation Dividend financed by a small levy on high-throughput automated facilities (debate alongside tax competitiveness and growth impacts, with Alaska’s dividend as comparative model). (Permanent Fund Dividend)
Potential funding mix: BEAD & federal workforce dollars; opioid settlement funds for behavioral-health components; philanthropic program-related investments; reallocation of some business-incentive outlays toward skill formation and transition supports.
Guardrails and reality checks
- Jobs won’t just vanish; they’ll mutate. Many new roles will emerge, but ladders will look like lattices. WEF and Brookings both flag task-level reconfiguration; policy must be nimble. (World Economic Forum)
- Pilots before permanence. Use RCTs and quasi-experimental designs (as in Stockton and Finland) to test income supports and time-reduction models in NH’s context. (Economic Security Project)
- Equity matters. If access to AI tools, child care, broadband, or credentials is unequal, advantage compounds. The playbook deliberately ties skills, supports, and hubs to rural and low-income households. (NH Economy)
Suggested legislative package titles (ready to file)
- HB ___: The AI & Agency Education Act – mandates K-12 standards and funds teacher micro-certification with UNH. (UNH Digital Skills)
- HB ___: Granite Skills Credits Act – creates universal adult upskilling purse; publishes outcomes dashboard. (SkillsFuture SG)
- HB ___: Four-Day Week Innovation Pilots Act – funds 100–80–100 trials in willing agencies and SMEs with independent evaluation. (The Guardian)
- HB ___: Rural Remotes & Micro-Hubs Act – ties BEAD deployments to coworking/childcare hubs. (NH Economy)
- HB ___: Automation Transition Benefits Act – wage insurance + upskilling + navigation when tasks are automated (flexicurity-inspired). (American Economic Association)
- HB ___: Human-in-the-Loop Safeguards Act – requires appealable decisions and model transparency in public AI systems. (New Hampshire Tech Alliance)
- HB ___: Automation Impact Assessment for Incentivized Firms – plan + transparency when accepting state incentives. (World Economic Forum)
- HB ___: Granite Creator & Micro-Enterprise Fund – patient micro-equity + AI credits for creators and co-ops.
- HB ___: Automation Dividend Pilot – 24-month RCT with UNH evaluators, modeled on SEED and benchmarked to Alaska PFD as a policy cousin. (Economic Security Project)
Key sources & NH-specific references (for staff packets)
- NH Employment Projections 2022–2032 (NHES): 719,300 → 761,300 (+42,000). (New Hampshire Employment Security)
- BLS JOLTS—NH (Jul 2025): 34,000 openings; 4.6% rate; 0.7 unemployed per opening. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- WEF Future of Jobs 2025: employer expectations through 2030; transformation of skills and tasks. (World Economic Forum)
- Brookings (2024): >30% of workers could see ≥50% of tasks disrupted by gen-AI. (Brookings)
- IMF (2024–2025): 40% of jobs globally (60% in advanced economies) affected by AI. (IMF)
- BEAD—NH Office of Broadband: ~$196.5M for broadband build-out. (NH Economy)
- UNH AI Automation Certificate: in-state capacity to skill up. (UNH Digital Skills)
- NH Tech Alliance—AI Task Force: industry/governance bridge. (New Hampshire Tech Alliance)
- Four-Day Week—UK evidence: persistence and performance after trials. (The Guardian)
- Guaranteed Income Evidence: Stockton SEED RCT outcomes; Alaska PFD as long-running citizen dividend. (Economic Security Project)
- Flexicurity models: Denmark’s blend of flexible labor markets + strong active supports. (American Economic Association)
Embed-ready videos (for the article page)
Paste these iframes into GraniteStateReport.com where supported:
IMF on AI & Jobs
Source: Reuters clip of Kristalina Georgieva’s remarks. (YouTube)
Future of Work, explained
Context video on automation and work. (YouTube)
Stockton Guaranteed Income (SEED)
Pair with the RCT paper in references. (YouTube)
Four-Day Week Trial (UK)
Good context for NH pilot design. (YouTube)
What success looks like by 2030
- Every NH high school grad can competently use, critique, and direct AI; every teacher has baseline AI pedagogy training. (AI & Agency standards + UNH micro-certs) (UNH Digital Skills)
- 150,000 adults have redeemed Granite Skills Credits; wage and placement gains are transparent on the dashboard. (SkillsFuture SG)
- Dozens of agencies/towns and 300+ SMEs have run Four-Day Week pilots with published KPIs; successful functions keep the model. (The Guardian)
- Broadband-plus hubs operate in at least 30 towns, with childcare blocks and apprenticeship meetups; remote employment rises in rural counties. (NH Economy)
- A peer-reviewed evaluation of the Automation Dividend Pilot gives NH-specific evidence on income supports in an AI era. (Economic Security Project)
- Public systems using AI all have human appeal paths and audit trails; trust rises alongside efficiency. (New Hampshire Tech Alliance)
The big idea
New Hampshire can make the post-career world not scary but sovereign—a place where young people assemble resilient, meaningful portfolios of work, creation, and community, supported by modern skills, modern safety nets, and modern infrastructure. It’s not about replacing jobs with checks; it’s about upgrading the social operating system so Granite Staters can choose how to contribute—and still sleep at night.
