The job market in New Jersey has shown signs of weakness, with a rise in layoffs and slow hiring across several industries. According to Challenger, Grey & Christmas, from January through July this year, companies in the state reported approximately 26,700 job cuts. This is a significant increase compared to about 5,800 jobs cut during all of the previous year.
Despite some job creation within the state, New Jersey's unemployment rate increased from 4.6% in February to 4.9% in July. This rate remains above the national average.
Will Irving from the Rutgers University New Jersey State Policy Lab described the state's labor market as “a mixed bag — overall, relatively weak.” He said, “We are through July down about 7,800 jobs, net, and that reflects losses in both a number of private-sector industries and public sector, state government in particular.”
Instability remains a concern for businesses operating in New Jersey. Some companies have responded to volatile tariff policies by increasing inventory orders as protection against higher import taxes. However, Will Irving noted that these tariff changes have not resulted in increased hiring so far.
“We’ve seen such a significant sort of rollercoaster in different tariff announcements and changes affecting different countries as well as different industries that it can have a stultifying effect on investment decisions certainly,” he said.
Business leaders also remain wary of potential spikes in energy costs.
NJ Spotlight News reported on these trends on September 15, 2025.
