While many business executives, progressives and labor leaders disagree on issues related to taxes and regulations, most expressed at least some confidence in what could be in store for New Jersey under the administration of President Joe Biden. “The tone will be calmer,” said Tom Bracken, president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. “That’ll allow the ability to focus on the real areas of need as opposed to getting sidetracked every five minutes by some other issue that pops up. It kind of gives a more normal atmosphere.”

The Democratic president plans to use the Defense Production Act to dramatically scale up the nation’s vaccination and testing capacity. He also plans to use the Federal Emergency Management Agency to set up 100 vaccination sites across the nation, of which New Jersey is in the "queue" to have one of those sites.

Proposed legislature creates three tiers for determining the severity of the virus’ spread in each of the 21 counties, based on a seven-day rolling average.

Lawmakers are moving ahead with a bill exempting federal COVID-19 relief loans from state income tax, a move that mirrors the most recent extension of the measure then-U.S. President Donald Trump signed on Dec. 27.

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development said the state’s unemployment rate was 10.2% in November 2020, but fell the next month, mainly “due to New Jersey residents leaving the labor force, rather than finding employment."

A January survey by the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University found that many establishments need additional support from the state and federal governments, including financing and technical assistance.

A month after his confirmation, Paul Rodríguez will immediately begin serving as deputy general counsel to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, which has played a critical role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A tax law Gov. Phil Murphy signed January 2019 to soften the blow on state and local property tax deductions brought in extra tax revenue between December 2019 and December 2020.

With thousands of new COVID-19 cases, and 3,506 total hospitalizations, the governor signed an executive order extending the public health emergency by 30 days.

The state Labor Department on Jan. 19 said it sent out two weeks' worth of federal unemployment relief to 533,000 New Jerseyans totaling up to $600 per person.

“They’re working through their appointments, but they need to punch at a higher weight, especially Walgreens,” the governor said Jan. 19. “When they’re not performing… that is impacting the sense of our overall posture, and we’re not getting to people fast enough.”