A year ago, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce launched the Growth and Opportunity Imperative, urging elected officials to support policies that would secure a better life for Americans by achieving at least 3% annual real economic growth over the next decade—a 50% increase over current projections. Economic growth is a snapshot into the lives of everyday people, the value of their efforts, their ability to provide for themselves and their families, the belief that their children’s lives will be better than their own. At 3% growth, a child born today could see their living standard double by their early 20s, compared to their mid-30s under 2% growth.

Key to the effort to achieve at least 3% growth is support and development of a larger, more skilled workforce. A tight labor market can hinder economic growth. If businesses can’t hire the workers they need, they cannot grow or reach full productivity potential. May 2025 data shows that there are only 69 workers per 100 jobs in New Hampshire. More concerningly, New Hampshire has one of the oldest workforces in the nation. 27% of workers in New Hampshire are over the age of 55, the highest in any state in the country. With data showing retirements accelerating since 2020, the future of New Hampshire's economy is tied to its ability to attract and retain works during this generational transition.

That is in part why the Business and Industry Association (BIA), the statewide chamber of commerce and state manufacturing association, commissioned the development of a data-driven assessment of the competitiveness of NH’s business climate. The report, Blueprint NH 2030, benchmarks the state’s competitiveness across dozens of key data points and identifies potential strategies and solutions to addressing the state’s top challenges.

The frank assessment of New Hampshire’s competitive advantages, and disadvantages, compared to other states is the key first step in crafting a long-range vision of the state’s economy that can achieve lofty goals like consistent 3% annual growth. New Hampshire’s strengths include business leaders dedicated to success, low and stable taxation, a responsive and accessible government, a strong educational system, and plentiful natural resources.

Challenges that face our economy, and workforce generally, include housing costs, childcare costs, and energy costs. With the state hitting a stunning, new, median single-family home price high in June of $566,250, a family of four would have to make well over the $165,000-a-year to avoid being cost burdened by housing costs. Additionally, with childcare costs for infants averaging at $17,364 a year, and 4-year-olds at $14,437, young families are increasingly cost-burdened. Energy costs continue to rise impacting all families and businesses, but particularly manufacturing and industrial businesses. Over a ten-year period while electricity prices increased 26% nationwide, prices increased 60% in New Hampshire.

Despite these challenges, New Hampshire is well positioned to strengthen its economic competitiveness in the near term and there are several action steps and strategies business leaders and policymakers can undertake as part of this process.

Rethinking our workforce systems: there is a vast array of worker training, career pathways, and workforce development programs in place across the state. Many of these efforts are having a positive impact and achieving results. However, the scope and scale of our state’s future workforce needs warrants a unified approach that maps, organizes, and aligns all these efforts under one statewide workforce strategy that positions NH to compete nationally. Of course, also critical to our workforce strategy is a continued focus by policymakers on bringing down the costs of housing and childcare, the two most critical levers to attract and retain people to our state and workforce.

Streamlining our regulatory environment: while New Hampshire is making great progress on streamlining its permitting processes, the state’s position as a low cost, regulatory–friendly state is under pressure as new federal and state rules, and regulations, have accumulated significantly over the past decade. New Hampshire can bring stability and certainty to its regulatory climate with a comprehensive review of all agency regulations and rules, and establish goals for streamlining processes and reducing outdated, unnecessary, or poorly defined regulations that stifle economic growth.

Embrace and support our innovation ecosystem: Over the past five years, New Hampshire has seen strong growth in the advanced industry sector and technology jobs, and it ranks as a leading state for innovation nationally. This is a powerful narrative and strength of the state’s economy that is often overlooked and still relatively unknown, especially outside of the state. Through enhanced collaboration, marketing, and convening of key partners, New Hampshire can leverage the strength of this industry sector and implement new policies to support the growth of our innovation ecosystem.

New Hampshire’s quality of life, natural resources, diverse economy, and favorable business climate are key attributes that provide a solid foundation for future economic growth. At the same time, increased costs impacting businesses and families, an aging workforce, and other states pursuing aggressive growth strategies represent a significant challenge to our future prosperity. Embracing a vision, or blueprint, for the future of the state’s economy is our best path to meet these challenges and ensure long-term growth and prosperity for the Granite State.

Michael Skelton is president and CEO of the Business & Industry Association. Visit BIAofNH.com.