New Jersey's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.6% in February, maintaining this level for nine consecutive months. This steady rate comes as the state added 19,200 nonfarm jobs during the same period, according to federal data released by state labor officials.
The New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development noted a revision in the preliminary job numbers for January, indicating a total job loss of 11,000 instead of the previously recorded 6,100. The job gains in February were distributed between the public sector with an increase of 12,600 positions and the private sector with 6,600 added jobs.
Five out of nine private industries saw employment increases compared to the previous month. Education and health services led with an increase of 3,900 jobs, followed by trade, transportation, and utilities increasing by 2,500 jobs, professional and business services with 1,200, construction up by 300, and manufacturing with an added 200 positions.
Conversely, the sectors that experienced job losses include financial activities, which decreased by 1,200 jobs, alongside minor declines in information, leisure and hospitality, and other services with a reduction of 100 positions each.
Over the year, between February 2024 and February 2025, New Jersey added 45,800 jobs, with private sector positions comprising 82% of these. As of February, the total nonfarm employment was a seasonally adjusted figure of 4,402,000.
The labor force participation rate slightly decreased to a seasonally adjusted 63.9% in February, down from 64% in January and 64.4% compared to February 2024.
Compared to the previous year, the state's unemployment rate was slightly higher than the 4.4% recorded in February 2024. Meanwhile, New Jersey's unemployment rate of 4.6% in February exceeded the national rate of 4.1% for the same month.
