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Study: NJ one of the best states for job seekers, among worst for commuting

New Jersey is among the best states in the U.S. to land a job, according to a newly released WalletHub survey.

In its 2022 Best and Worst States for Jobs report, the Garden State ranked No. 10 when it came to providing opportunities for secure employment.

For the list, the personal finance website said it compared the 50 states across 35 key indicators of job-market strength, opportunity and a healthy economy, ranging from employment growth to median annual income to employee benefits.

According to WalletHub, New Jersey came in at No. 2 for overall economic environment, No. 4 for highest median income, No. 9 in percentage of residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19, No. 14 in monthly average starting salary, No. 16 in average length of work week, No. 23 in employment growth, No. 27 for job market and No. 48 for average commuting time.

Overall, Washington was ranked as the best state to find a job, followed by Vermont, New Hampshire, Colorado, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Virginia, Connecticut and New Jersey.

The results are in

Click here to see the best places to work in New Jersey, as determined by the employees themselves.

young professionals celebrate

On the flip side, the states with the fewest job opportunities are Ohio (No. 41), Alabama (No. 42), South Carolina (No. 43), Pennsylvania (No. 44), Oklahoma (No. 45), Arkansas (No. 46), Louisiana (No. 47), Mississippi (No. 48), Kentucky (No. 49) and West Virginia (No. 50).

As of October 2022, the United States’ overall unemployment rate sat at 3.7%, nearing pre-pandemic levels measured around 3.5%. According to the Bureau of Labor Services, there were significant employment gains last month in health care, professional and technical services, and manufacturing.

In New Jersey, the unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 3.5% in October, the state Department of Labor & Workforce Development reported in its monthly summary.

As for 2023, experts believe the job market will soften partly due to the Federal Reserve’s efforts to reduce inflation.

“We should expect an uptick in unemployment and continued historically lower levels of labor force participation. Many companies have already announced layoffs in response to declining demand for products and corporate restructuring. Twitter, Microsoft, Netflix, Oracle, Peloton, Ford, Meta, GAP, Wayfair, Wells Fargo, and Snap are among those which have laid off employees this year,” Marick Masters, a professor of business at Wayne State University in Michigan, told WalletHub.

When it comes to job growth over the next decade, Masters anticipates certain fields will thrive more than others.

“The sectors in which the most growth is expected are health care, leisure and hospitality, advanced technology, data and information analysis, and alternative energy,” he said. “Jobs that involve the provision of care and services for the elderly and infirm are like to grow considerably. Included among the specific jobs expecting growth are nurse practitioners, statisticians, health services managers, data analysts, and technicians working in alternative energy.”

Two NJ cities make list of best places to celebrate Halloween

Jersey City and Newark are among the best cities in the U.S. to celebrate Halloween, according to a newly released WalletHub survey.

When it came to the “most spook-tacular” places to be on the third-most-popular holiday in the country, Jersey City took the No. 7 spot while Newark was ranked No. 37.

For the list, the personal finance website said it considered a variety of factors, including walkability, crime, pedestrian safety, COVID-19 vaccination rates and weather.

Spirit Halloween and Crumbl Cookies — Spirit Halloween, based in Egg Harbor Township, teamed up with Crumbl Cookies for a “sweet” costume collaboration this year. – SPIRIT HALLOWEEN

WalletHub also looked at the number of costume stores, candy shops, pumpkin patches, movie theaters and pick-your-own farms per capita, as well as average price per Halloween party ticket to potential trick-or-treat stops.

The final list broke down the metrics into three categories:

“Trick-or-treater friendliness” considered population density, crime rate, vehicle versus pedestrian related crashes, perception of safety and more.
“Halloween fun” reviewed factors like the average price of a Halloween party ticket via Eventbrite, Halloween costume and party supply stores per capita, farms and pumpkin patches per capita, the number of amusement parks in a city and more.
“Halloween weather” reviewed the temperature of the weather on the holiday versus a location’s average temperature, in addition to the amount of precipitation forecasted for Halloween.

Jersey City ranked No. 2 for trick-or-treater friendliness, No. 59 for fun and No. 92 for weather. Newark placed No. 8 for trick-or-treater friendliness, No. 98 for fun and No. 97 for weather.

Overall, New York ranked as the best place to spend Halloween, followed by San Francisco, Miami, Los Angeles and Las Vegas all in the top 10.

Orlando took the top spot for best city for fun, while Sacramento was the top city for weather and New York ranked No. 1 for trick-or-treater friendliness.

Still time for scares

A native New Jerseyan brought his LA-based production company back home to put on the fully immersive Haunt O’ Ween NJ, taking place through Oct. 31. Click here for the details.

With concerns about the pandemic waning, Americans are ready to go all out this Halloween.

According to the National Retail Federation, 69% of consumers are planning to celebrate Halloween this year compared with 68% in 2019 and 65% in 2021.

A survey commissioned by the trade group found that households plan to dole out an average of $100.45 on costumes, candy and decorations, with total spending expected to reach $10.6 billion. Last year, consumers spent a record $10.1 billion to celebrate Halloween.

Costumes account for the biggest area of Halloween purchases, with get-ups for children and adults expecting to total $2.9 billion — the highest amount since 2017. Spending on costumes for pets is expected to reach $710 million, exceeding last year’s record high.

“Halloween is an exciting time for many families, and that enthusiasm is reflected in the number of Americans who plan to celebrate the holiday this year,” NRF president and chief executive officer Matthew Shay said in a statement. “As consumers continue to return to pre-pandemic behaviors, retailers are prepared to meet that demand and help make this holiday a fun and memorable one.”

Survey: Americans concerned about inflation, interest rate hikes, recession

WalletHub is out with its new Fed Rate Hike Survey, gauging customer sentiment about the increases Americans are facing while dealing with inflation and other economic challenges, including a possible recession on the horizon.

“Americans have been worried about high prices for months, and the anxiety seems to be growing, as WalletHub’s latest Fed Rate Hike Survey found that 92% of people say they are concerned about inflation, marking an increase from 85% in September,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “The upcoming holiday shopping season, the increased cost of debt from recent Fed rate hikes, and high grocery bills are likely key drivers of increased consumer price sensitivity.”

supermarket — When asked which monthly expenses have been most affected by inflation, 55% of respondents said groceries, 40% gas and 5% housing. – PIXABAY

The survey found that 71% of respondents say their wallets have been affected by the Fed interest rate increases so far, with another expected to come in early November. Not surprisingly, 33% are upset about the hikes, 29% unprepared and 23% indifferent, while 15% responded they were happy about the climbing interest rates.

“Consumers are fed up with the Fed,” said Gonzalez. “The number of people who currently feel unprepared for rate hikes is up 18% compared to September. Attitudes will not change until interest rates start to decline.”

Gonzalez says that WalletHub expects the Fed’s likely Nov. 2 rate hike to cost U.S. consumers $5.1 billion in 2022 alone.

“When the Federal Reserve raises its target interest rate, the rates on most credit cards rise too,” said Gonzalez. “Most credit cards have variable rates that are tied to the Fed’s target rate. Considering that Americans collectively owe more than $1.07 trillion to credit card companies, even small rate hikes are very expensive.”

Poll: Do New Jerseyans think the Inflation Reduction Act will help? Click here to find out.

When asked which monthly expenses have been most affected by inflation, 55% said groceries, 40% gas and 5% housing. In fact, 67% feel that the government should put a cap on grocery prices.

The survey also drilled into people’s feelings about a potential recession, with 52% saying they are financially prepared for one while 48% are not. The vast majority of respondents (85%) feel that we are headed into a recession, a 7% increase from September.

“Americans know a recession is coming, but most of us are not prepared to deal with one,” said Gonzalez. “Unfortunately, less than half the country say they’re not financially prepared for a downturn.”

NJ tops list of best states for working from home

The pandemic has changed the state of the workplace, with many companies offering the option to work from home. In fact, about 20% of all professional jobs were remote as of the beginning of 2022, according to personal finance publication WalletHub.

And even though many workers are starting to return to the office, the number of employees looking for remote work has skyrocketed in the past two years. An August 2021 report from Glassdoor found that the share of job searches for remote positions grew 360% between June 2019 and June 2021. So with the option to work from anywhere, what is the best state to set up the home office? Turns out, it’s right here.

WalletHub compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 12 key metrics in two key dimensions (work environment and living environment) and found that the Garden State tops the list of best states to work from home. The factors creating the best work-from-home conditions include low costs, reasonable comfort and a high level of security, the report stated. Other factors included how large and how crowded homes are in each state.

New Jersey received the highest of all scores at 66.75, ranking fifth for work environment and 11th for living environment. Rounding out the top five were the District of Columbia, Delaware, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

“New Jersey is the best state for working from home due in part to the fact that the state provides a comfortable and affordable environment for working remotely, with nearly 97% of households having internet speeds above 25Mbps. In addition, New Jersey has the second best access to low-priced internet plans in the country,” Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst, wrote in an email. “Plus, New Jersey has one of the highest percentages of people who could potentially work from home, so many workers can take advantage of these good remote work conditions.”

The states that are the least favorable for remote work are Arkansas, North Dakota, Montana, Mississippi and Alaska.

Diana Polk, WalletHub’s communications manager, broke down how the Garden State ranked among the survey’s metrics:

Working from home in New Jersey (1=Best, 25=Average):

21st – Share of population working from home
11th – Share of potential telecommuters
4th – Households’ internet access
21st – Average home square footage
12th – Cybersecurity
29th – Internet cost

WalletHub asked a panel of experts to weigh in on the future of the work-from-home option as part of its research.

“The genie is not going back into the bottle and we will not be returning to a world of almost exclusive work away from home,” said Robert Gitter, the Joseph A. Meek professor emeritus of economics at Ohio Wesleyan University. “I can easily see a hybrid system where workers work on-site several days a week and from home several days a week. Frankly, the culture has changed and sometimes workers will Zoom into a meeting from their desk at the office if they have to be there.”

With the current labor shortage, Gitter also said companies should look for ways to attract remote workers and invest in methods for remote onboarding and team building.

As noted, New Jersey ranked No. 4 for the number of households with internet access. When asked what the most important indicator of a successful work-from-home environment is, the panelists’ top answer was technology.

New survey ranks NJ as worst for retirees in 2022

As New Jersey’s leaders grapple with the issue of affordability for residents and businesses, a new WalletHub study ranked the Garden State as the nation’s worst state for retirement.

The Jan. 24 study by the personal finance publication ranked New Jersey 49th in affordability (just ahead of New York), 34th in quality of life, and 28th in health care quality.

Florida “unsurprisingly” ranked first for retirement, thanks to lower taxes, things to do and the sheer number of fellow retirees, the report said.

WalletHub ranked New Jersey 33rd in annual costs for in-home services, 38th in how elder-friendly the labor market was, and 28th for the percentage of residents aged 65 and above.

Lack of affordability has made its way into debates among policymakers and conversations among residents and business owners.

Only two states have a higher income tax than New Jersey — California and Hawaii — according to the Tax Foundation. In addition, Gov. Phil Murphy and legislative Democrats enacted a millionaire’s tax in 2020, raising the income tax from 8.97% to 10.75% for income above $1 million. The top corporate tax rate of 11.5% is also the nation’s highest, the nonprofit think tank added.

Property taxes and the high cost of living have vexed New Jerseyans for a long time. A November poll from the Eagleton Institute at Rutgers University found the topic has been their main concern for the past five decades.

Murphy and other top political leaders have said they want to address the issues but have offered no concrete plans. Several top Democratic lawmakers contended that voters felt as if their concerns were not being heard in the state capital, which led to Republican gains at the ballot box in November.

During his inaugural address last week, Murphy cited more than a dozen tax cuts for Garden State residents, but maintained that more needed to be done.

“After the November election, the governor and legislative leaders of both parties said addressing affordability would be a priority,” Senate Republican Leader Steven Oroho, R-24th District, said Jan. 18. “After all that talk, it’s time to show people some real action.”

A WalletHub study from last June ranked New Jersey as the best state to live in for 2021 despite its affordability issues. New Jersey ranked in the top 10 for safety, quality of life, and education and health, though the state still ranked 49th for affordability in the report.

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