New Jersey’s unemployment rate has remained nearly unchanged for almost a year, ranking as the sixth highest in the nation, according to recent data. This comes as the national labor market shows signs of deceleration.
The state's current unemployment rate is significantly lower than the 15.4% recorded in May 2020 during COVID-19-related business closures, which was New Jersey's highest unemployment rate since such figures were first tracked in 1976.
James Hughes, an economist at Rutgers University, explained that higher-paying office jobs have become saturated following the pandemic. "They didn’t want to let any of their employees go because they knew how hard it was to build up staff. They’re keeping those employees," Hughes said. "But they’ve given up on hiring."
Lower-paying sectors such as leisure and hospitality, which suffered more during the pandemic, continued their hiring surges in 2023 and 2024. Health care is expected to grow as the baby boomer population ages and becomes one of the sector’s biggest consumers, Hughes noted.
Most new hires were in lower-paying jobs like restaurants, health care, and teaching, according to Hughes.
NorthJersey.com contributed to this report.
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