According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the broadest measure of labor underutilization, designated U-6, includes the unemployed, workers employed part-time for economic reasons, and those marginally attached to the labor force. New Jersey’s U-6 is 6.8% in New Jersey, similar to the 7.2% rate for the nation. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that of the six alternative measures of labor underutilization in New Jersey, all but one, the U-2, had a significant decline from its 2018 rate. Nationally, all six measures had significant decreases over the year. (See table 1.)
