Twenty-eight businesses in New Jersey have reported laying off a total of 3,618 workers in the first quarter of 2025. This figure more than doubles the 1,753 layoffs announced by 118 companies during the corresponding period in 2024.
These layoffs occur as businesses contend with the ramifications of President Donald Trump's tariffs on imports from the United States' trading partners, budget reductions enforced by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, and the governor's race in New Jersey.
In 2019, the average monthly job gain was 166,000, suggesting, as Rutgers University economist James Hughes notes, "that the labor market remained strong." Yet, Hughes cautions, "the major question going forward is whether this is the last positive month … before the tariff turmoil slows the economy."
The data, which shows 3,618 layoffs from 28 companies, comes from public filings with the New Jersey Department of Labor, specifically Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications, or WARN notices.
Looking at previous years, the reported layoffs for the first quarter have varied: 3,848 in 2023 and 1,365 in 2022. Hughes commented, "We may have seen in 2023 a sharp increase in quarterly layoffs and the like because of inflation and higher interest rates," and anticipates that "we may see the same thing in 2025" due to the tariffs, adding, "It almost seems like we’re in another panic."
