Independent New Hampshire Journalism · Northfield, NHFederal payroll counts show electronics manufacturers in the state shedding about 11,000 jobs while computer systems design employers added about 8,000. Even after the decline, no state had a larger share of its private workforce in computer and electronics manufacturing in 2025.
Audio edition (10:46): a synthetic voice reads the article. The charts, tables and fact check are on this page.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics keeps a count of jobs and pay built from the reports employers file with state unemployment insurance programs. In that count, the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private employers in New Hampshire’s computer and electronic product manufacturing industry employed an average of 25,812 people in 2001. In 2025 they employed 14,807, a drop of 43 percent.
Over the same years, private employment in computer systems design and related services rose from 6,345 to 14,456, an increase of 128 percent. That industry covers custom computer programming, computer systems design, computer facilities management and other computer-related services. Private employment across all industries in the state grew 14 percent in the span, from 530,972 to 605,591.
Taken together, the two industries employed 32,157 people in 2001 and 29,263 in 2025. As a share of the state’s private workforce, computer and electronics manufacturing fell from 4.9 percent to 2.4 percent. Computer systems design rose from 1.2 percent to 2.4 percent.
What the count covers
The bureau says the census covers more than 95 percent of U.S. jobs. It leaves out proprietors, the unincorporated self-employed and unpaid family members, among others, so an unincorporated freelance programmer working alone does not appear in it. Each employer location is assigned an industry code by the state workforce agency, based on a description the employer provides. The figures in this article are annual averages for private employers only. The bureau describes its 2025 annual averages, released in final form in September 2026, as the complete count for that year.
Industry definitions have been revised since 2001. The industry codes used here appear in every year of the files Granite State Report pulled: 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010 and each year from 2014 through 2025.
Two lines, converging
Computer and electronics manufacturing lost a quarter of its New Hampshire jobs from 2001 to 2004, falling from 25,812 to 19,386. It stood at 14,438 in 2014, climbed to 16,483 by 2019, and eased to 14,807 in 2025.
Computer systems design fell from 6,345 in 2001 to 5,255 in 2004, then rose to 15,055 in 2022, the highest annual figure from 2014 through 2025, before easing to 14,456 in 2025. The climb included one unusually large jump. Its count rose by 2,909 jobs, or 32 percent, in a single year, from 9,087 in 2016 to 11,996 in 2017. The bureau’s files do not explain the jump. Because each employer location carries a single industry code, a change in one location’s code moves all of its jobs from one industry to another in the files, so a one-year jump can reflect recoding as well as hiring. Granite State Report did not determine which happened here.
Two New Hampshire Tech Industries, 2001 to 2025
Average annual private employment, selected years. Navy: computer and electronic product manufacturing. Red: computer systems design and related services. Bars start at zero and are drawn to scale against the 2001 manufacturing figure.
Granite State Report · Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, New Hampshire statewide annual averages, private ownership, industry codes 334 and 5415. Selected years. Granite State Report did not pull 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 or 2011 through 2013.
Inside the factory number
The manufacturing decline was not spread evenly. Semiconductor and other electronic component makers went from 11,565 jobs in New Hampshire in 2001 to 4,851 in 2025. Computer and peripheral equipment makers went from 3,653 to 936, and communications equipment makers from 2,517 to 368.
One part of the industry grew. Makers of navigational, measuring, electromedical and control instruments employed 7,355 people in 2001 and 8,471 in 2025, a gain of 15 percent. In 2001 they held 28 percent of the state’s computer and electronics manufacturing jobs. In 2025 they held 57 percent.
Computer and Electronics Manufacturing in New Hampshire, by Part
Average annual private employment
| Industry | 2001 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navigational, measuring, electromedical and control instruments (3345) | 7,355 | 8,471 | +15.2% |
| Semiconductor and other electronic components (3344) | 11,565 | 4,851 | −58.1% |
| Computer and peripheral equipment (3341) | 3,653 | 936 | −74.4% |
| Communications equipment (3342) | 2,517 | 368 | −85.4% |
| All computer and electronic product manufacturing (334) | 25,812 | 14,807 | −42.6% |
Granite State Report · Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, New Hampshire statewide annual averages, private ownership. The four parts shown do not add to the total; the rest is in smaller parts of the industry. Changes are Granite State Report arithmetic.
Still the most concentrated state
The bureau measures how concentrated an industry is with a location quotient, which compares an industry’s share of employment in a place with its share nationwide. A quotient above 1 means the industry holds a larger share of local jobs than it does across the country.
In 2025, New Hampshire’s quotient for private computer and electronics manufacturing was 3.35, the highest among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Oregon was second, at 2.73, and Minnesota third, at 2.24. For the instrument makers alone, New Hampshire’s quotient was 4.70, also the highest, ahead of Minnesota at 3.33. For computer systems design, New Hampshire’s 1.37 ranked fifth, behind Virginia, Colorado, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
Where These Industries Are Most Concentrated, 2025
Location quotients for private employment; 1.00 equals the national share. Top five among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
| Rank | Computer and electronic product manufacturing | Instruments (3345) | Computer systems design |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Hampshire, 3.35 | New Hampshire, 4.70 | Virginia, 2.64 |
| 2 | Oregon, 2.73 | Minnesota, 3.33 | Colorado, 1.92 |
| 3 | Minnesota, 2.24 | Massachusetts, 2.59 | Maryland, 1.87 |
| 4 | Massachusetts, 1.95 | Iowa, 2.47 | District of Columbia, 1.80 |
| 5 | California, 1.93 | Maryland, 2.45 | New Hampshire, 1.37 |
Granite State Report · Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages by industry, private ownership. Ranks are Granite State Report sorting of the bureau’s published quotients.
The pay
Both industries pay well above the state’s private-sector average. In 2025, average annual pay was $145,491 in computer and electronics manufacturing and $183,923 in computer systems design, against $82,594 across all private employers in New Hampshire. Nationally, the bureau’s figures were $164,052 and $176,274.
The pay figures are in current dollars. Adjusted with the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, the 2001 averages equal about $106,885 in manufacturing, $130,339 in computer systems design and $65,361 across all private employers, in 2025 dollars. On that basis, average pay rose 36 percent in manufacturing, 41 percent in computer systems design and 26 percent across the private sector. An average can be pulled up by a small number of very large paychecks, and the bureau’s files give no medians.
Average Annual Pay, New Hampshire Private Employers
2025, current dollars, with 2001 averages shown in 2025 dollars. Bars start at zero.
Granite State Report · Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, New Hampshire statewide annual averages, private ownership; CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, annual averages for 2001 (177.1) and 2025 (321.943). The bureau published no October 2025 index because of the 2025 lapse in federal appropriations. Inflation adjustments are Granite State Report arithmetic.
What the files do not say
The census counts jobs and wages by industry and place. It does not name employers, and it does not explain why an industry grew or shrank. This article does not assign a cause to either line. For the wider picture, Granite State Report traced manufacturing’s share of the state’s economic output in “Manufacturing Made 22.5 Percent of New Hampshire’s Economic Output in 1997 and 9.4 Percent in 2025”, and Defense Department contract spending in the state in “Defense Department Contracts for Work in New Hampshire Topped $2.5 Billion in Fiscal 2025”.
What the count does show is a change in the kind of technology work done in New Hampshire, measured by the same federal count for a quarter century. In 2001 the state’s electronics factories employed four people for every one in computer systems design. By 2025 the two industries were close to even.
— Granite State Report
Your Turn
Tell us: have you worked in New Hampshire’s electronics plants or its computer services firms? Tell us what changed in your line of work and what these counts miss. Write to granitestatereport@gmail.com. No person or agency named in this article was asked to comment for it. Any of them may write to the same address; a response will be added here with its date.
A narrated summary of this article (1:55), read by a synthetic voice. Photograph of a former Amoskeag textile mill in Manchester, 2012: David Wilson, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0; cropped and darkened for the title card. Charts: Granite State Report from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures.
Fact check
| # | Claim | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Hampshire private employment in computer and electronic product manufacturing (334): 25,812 in 2001, 14,807 in 2025, down 42.6 percent; computer systems design and related services (5415): 6,345 to 14,456, up 127.8 percent; all private industries 530,972 to 605,591, up 14.1 percent. | VERIFIED | BLS QCEW New Hampshire statewide annual files, 2001 and 2025, private ownership; Granite State Report arithmetic. |
| 2 | Combined 32,157 in 2001 and 29,263 in 2025; shares of private employment 4.9 to 2.4 percent (334) and 1.2 to 2.4 percent (5415). | VERIFIED | Same files; Granite State Report arithmetic. |
| 3 | QCEW covers more than 95 percent of U.S. jobs; excludes proprietors, the unincorporated self-employed and unpaid family members; industry codes are assigned to each establishment by the state workforce agency from an employer description. | ATTRIBUTED | BLS, QCEW Overview page (paraphrased). |
| 4 | The 2025 annual averages were final as of September 2026 and are described by the bureau as the complete and final count for 2025; annual averages are usually first published in June of the following year. | ATTRIBUTED | BLS, Employment and Wages, Annual Averages 2025, introduction and annual average employment section (paraphrased). |
| 5 | Industry definitions have been revised since 2001 (the titles file lists retired codes); codes 334, 3341, 3342, 3344, 3345 and 5415 appear in every year pulled. | VERIFIED | BLS QCEW industry titles file (lists retired codes tagged NAICS07); New Hampshire annual files for each year pulled. |
| 6 | Manufacturing series: 19,386 (2004), 14,438 (2014), 16,483 (2019); computer systems design 5,255 (2004), 9,087 (2016), 11,996 (2017, a rise of 2,909 or 32 percent), 15,055 (2022, the highest from 2014 through 2025); chart values for 2007 and 2010. | VERIFIED | BLS QCEW New Hampshire statewide annual files; Granite State Report arithmetic. |
| 7 | Parts of the industry, 2001 and 2025: instruments 7,355 and 8,471; semiconductors and components 11,565 and 4,851; computers and peripherals 3,653 and 936; communications equipment 2,517 and 368; instruments’ share of the industry 28 and 57 percent. | VERIFIED | Same files; Granite State Report arithmetic. |
| 8 | Definition of a location quotient and the meaning of a value above 1. | ATTRIBUTED | BLS, Location Quotients Explained (paraphrased). |
| 9 | 2025 quotients and ranks among the 50 states and the District of Columbia for industries 334, 3345 and 5415, as shown in the table. | VERIFIED | BLS QCEW 2025 annual by-industry files, private ownership, statewide rows; Granite State Report sorting. |
| 10 | 2025 average annual pay: $145,491 (334), $183,923 (5415), $82,594 (all private) in New Hampshire; $164,052 and $176,274 nationally. 2001: $58,797, $71,699 and $35,955. | VERIFIED | BLS QCEW New Hampshire and U.S. annual files, private ownership. |
| 11 | CPI-U annual averages 177.1 (2001) and 321.943 (2025); no October 2025 index because of the lapse in appropriations; 2001 pay in 2025 dollars $106,885, $130,339 and $65,361; real gains of 36, 41 and 26 percent. | VERIFIED | BLS series CUUR0000SA0 and its October 2025 footnote; Granite State Report arithmetic. |
| 12 | In 2001 manufacturing employed about four people for every one in computer systems design; by 2025 the two were close to even. | VERIFIED | 25,812 to 6,345 is 4.07 to 1; 14,807 to 14,456 is 1.02 to 1. Granite State Report arithmetic. |
| 13 | Earlier Granite State Report articles on manufacturing’s share of output and on Defense Department contracts. | VERIFIED | Granite State Report, Oct. 14, 2026. |
| 14 | The photograph shows a former Amoskeag textile mill in Manchester on Sept. 22, 2012, by David Wilson, licensed CC BY 2.0. | VERIFIED | Wikimedia Commons file page, description, Flickr review and license, read Oct. 16, 2026. |
Payroll counts, plant records and the dates on them are what build the record. Confidentiality respected where possible. granitestatereport@gmail.com · (603) 931-9264.
Editor’s note. Employment, pay and location quotient figures are drawn from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages annual averages for New Hampshire and the United States, private ownership, for 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2014 through 2025; the 2025 figures are the bureau’s final annual averages, released in September 2026. Inflation adjustments use the bureau’s CPI-U annual averages. Percentages, ratios, rankings and inflation-adjusted figures the bureau did not state are Granite State Report arithmetic from its figures.
Corrections: Granite State Report corrects verified errors promptly and appends a dated note identifying what changed and when. The corrections policy and the corrections register are public, and correction notes are never removed.
