Programs and projects around the state are working toward this goal, hoping to recapture New Jersey’s role as a leader in innovation while also creating the most diverse and inclusive such ecosystem in the U.S.

The CEO of OceanFirst Financial returns to discuss the outlook for inflation, hiring and the industries showing strength amid the turmoil.

Climbing gas, heating and other costs are putting businesses in a quandary as entrepreneurs must decide how much they can pass on to customers, and how much they’ll have to absorb to stay competitive.

At the variant’s peak in December and January, owners said that patronage dropped off, but activity has since bounced back. Now, they have bigger problems: higher costs and few workers.

Despite leading the national average, New Jersey’s recovery was complicated by the omicron variant that hit the nation in December, slowing job growth that month.

Fitch revised the state’s forecast from negative to positive, citing a “rapid turnaround” from the COVID-19 recession, multiple rounds of federal aid, and an added fiscal cushion clocking in at billions of dollars.