The primary election is behind us, and New Hampshire voters now have a clearer picture of the candidates who will compete for their support in November. Over the next two months, we will hear plenty about personalities, politics and partisan differences. But for New Hampshire’s business community, there is a more important question: what will candidates do to strengthen the state’s economy and make New Hampshire more competitive?

The good news is that New Hampshire enters this election season from a position of relative strength. Unemployment remains exceptionally low at 2.8%, and the number of employed Granite Staters has increased over the past year. Yet employers continue to report difficulty finding workers, underscoring the fundamental challenge facing our state: New Hampshire’s continued economic growth depends on expanding our workforce.

The BIA’s forthcoming 2026 Legislative Report highlights progress made over the past year on several business policy issues. Lawmakers rejected proposals that would have increased business costs or reversed recent economic reforms, while advancing new policies designed to expand housing and childcare capacity. But the work is far from complete. These issues provide a useful framework for the economic debate candidates should be having this fall.

Housing must remain at the top of the economic agenda. Recent reforms are beginning to produce results. New Hampshire has seen housing production increase, and the Legislature spent the past two sessions reducing barriers to construction and expanding opportunities for starter homes, multifamily housing, commercial space conversions and other housing types.

But increased production has not yet translated into affordability. The median New Hampshire home price reached a record $580,000 this summer, while rental vacancy rates remain well below the national average. Candidates should be talking about how we build on recent bipartisan progress by modernizing land-use regulations, continue to streamline permitting and making it easier and less expensive to build the housing our workforce needs.

Childcare should be viewed through the same economic lens. The 2026 Legislature passed two important BIA-backed reforms: a business tax credit encouraging employers to invest in new childcare capacity and “One State, One Code” legislation reducing local barriers to opening childcare facilities.

Those reforms matter because childcare is workforce infrastructure. Recent reporting found that the average cost of childcare for two children in New Hampshire reached roughly $30,000 in 2025, while the state lost 120 childcare programs between 2017 and 2025. Candidates should be discussing how to build upon this year’s progress, expand capacity and make it possible for more parents who want to work to participate in the labor force.

Energy costs demand greater urgency. This remains an area where progress has been frustratingly elusive. New Hampshire electricity rates remain among the highest in the country, creating a competitive disadvantage for manufacturers and other energy-intensive employers. The BIA’s legislative report notes that manufacturers consistently identify energy costs as a leading concern when deciding whether to expand here. The next Legislature should pursue an all-of-the-above strategy focused on affordability, reliability and additional supply, while giving large energy users more options to invest in generation and control their own costs. The debate should begin with a simple question: How do we make New Hampshire a more competitive place to produce and manufacture things?

While housing, childcare and energy are often treated as separate policy debates, for employers they are increasingly interconnected pieces of the same competitiveness challenge. A worker who cannot find an affordable place to live cannot take the job. A parent who cannot find childcare may be unable to participate in the workforce. High energy costs make it harder for employers to invest, expand and create the jobs that attract and retain workers in the first place.

That brings us back to New Hampshire’s fundamental economic challenge: continued growth depends on expanding our workforce. We need to attract more working-age people to New Hampshire, retain more of the young people already here and make it easier for people who want to work to participate fully in our economy. Achieving that will require more housing, greater childcare capacity and a more competitive energy environment, while preserving the tax and regulatory fundamentals that give employers confidence to invest and grow here. The 2026 legislative session demonstrated that progress on these challenges is possible. With the primary behind us, the campaign ahead provides an opportunity for candidates to explain how they would build on that progress and strengthen New Hampshire’s economy.

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