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Federal spending cuts could cost NH over 6,300 jobs



New Hampshire could lose an estimated 6,306 jobs next year if the White House and Congress can't forge a deal to avoid across-the-board spending cuts by year's end, according to a new report.

The state could lose 3,601 Defense Department jobs and another 2,705 non-Defense Department jobs by September 2013 if more than $1.2 trillion in “sequestration” spending cuts are enacted over the next decade, with some starting in January, according to a study for the Aerospace Industries Association released Tuesday.

The reductions were mandated as part of last summer's debt limit agreement, according to Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.

“Military leaders have been clear that defense sequestration will deprive our troops of the resources they need and undermine our national security for generations,” said Ayotte, who spoke at a news conference unveiling the report.

“This new study underscores the sequestration will also crush our economy, devastate our defense industrial base, and cost jobs in New Hampshire and across the country.”

Andy Smith, a pollster at the University of New Hampshire, said the issue isn't on many voters' minds now, and he expects the political parties to broker a deal.

“They're likely to deal with it after the (November) election,” Smith said.

The report's analysis said that the automatic spending cuts mandated in the Budget Control Act of 2011 affecting defense and non-defense discretionary spending in just the first year would decrease personal earnings of the American workforce by $109.4 billion and cost the U.S. economy 2.14 million jobs.

“We cannot continue to avoid tough decisions on the future of our debt and deficit,” U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said. “We should continue to work on a comprehensive solution that puts everything on the table. It's the right thing to do for our national security, for our economy and for our people.”

The study said 48,059 jobs in health care, 98,953 in construction, 473,250 in manufacturing and 617,449 federal jobs are at risk nationwide. California, Virginia and Texas would realize the largest number of jobs losses. Massachusetts could lose 60,497 jobs.

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Mike Cousineau may be reached at mcousineau@unionleader.com.




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