New Jersey jobless rate dips lower

The July jobs report showed more private sector job gains in New Jersey along with a falling unemployment rate, according to preliminary estimates produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“New Jersey employers added 6,300 jobs in July,” said Dr. Charles Steindel, former chief economist of the state of New Jersey, who analyzed the report for Garden State Initiative. “The gain left the state 10,000 jobs under the February 2020 peak and stood in some contrast to the national count reaching a new high.”

In fact, the state has now recovered about 99% of all public and private sector job losses caused by the pandemic.

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And the report revealed the unemployment inching down from 3.9% to 3.7%, putting New Jersey’s rate closer to the national mark of 3.5%.

While that is all great news for the Garden State, Steindel said he did have some concerns about the report.

“New Jersey’s somewhat modest performance was due to losses in the government (-5,800) and leisure and hospitality sectors (-2,400), both of which rose in the nation as a whole,” said Steindel. “New Jersey’s count of private jobs excluding leisure and hospitality rose a fairly steep 17,900, with marked increases in professional and business services (+4,900) as well as education and health (+4,200).”

Steindel noted that resident employment rose 11,400, while there was a 4,700 increase in the labor force, which continues its recent rebound.

“However, the state of New Jersey’s labor force was less than in July 2021,” said Steindel.

The next glimpse into the state’s labor picture comes on Sept. 15 when the BLS data for August is released.