Leisure and hospitality created 40 percent of New Jersey’s new jobs in the past year

Roughly 40 percent of new private sector jobs added to New Jersey since July 2016 have come from the leisure and hospitality industry, according to commercial real estate and investment firm CBRE.Roughly 40 percent of new private sector jobs added to New Jersey since July 2016 have come from the leisure and hospitality industry, according to commercial real estate and investment firm CBRE.

New Jersey’s leisure and hospitality industry added 26,500 jobs since last year and led the way for highest wage gains in the state’s private sector. Workers in the industry saw a 10.83 percent increase in wages in the past year.

According to CBRE’s analysis, New Jersey was fifth in the country for wage growth with an average of 5.77 percent across all private sector jobs. Delaware, Georgia, Missouri and Arizona made up the Top Four spots, respectively.

The massive expansion of positions created for the leisure and hospitality industry suggests an increase in visitors and tourism to the Garden State. This year’s 26,500 increase was nearly five times the amount of jobs created in the industry from 2013 to 2016, which saw 5,000 new jobs per year on average.

Education and business services also saw large expansions this past year, with each industry adding over 14,000 new jobs since July of last year. However, Education wages have remained mostly stagnant whereas business services have increased nearly 6 percent.

In total, New Jersey added roughly 66,000 new jobs since July of last year.