New Jersey lost 4,400 nonfarm jobs between July and August, and the unemployment rate ticked up by a tenth of a percentage point to 4.8%, according to federal data released Thursday by the state Department of Labor & Workforce Development.
Revised employment estimates for July saw a downward revision of 11,500 compared to the preliminary estimates’ loss of 10,300. The state’s unemployment rate for July remained unchanged at 4.7%.
Employment stood at a seasonally adjusted total of 4,369,400 in August. A year ago, seasonally adjusted employment stood at 4,319,800, which represents an increase of 49,600 nonfarm jobs in 12 months, the DOL said.
Last month, 4 out of 9 private industries recorded employment gains: education and health services (+1,000); manufacturing (+900); financial activities (+900); and leisure and hospitality (+200).
Sectors that recorded employment losses in August include professional and business services (-2,700); construction (-1,600); trade, transportation, and utilities (-500); other services (-400); and information (-200). Public sector jobs decreased by 2,000 for August, mostly at the local level.
Over the past 12 months, about 89% of New Jersey’s job gains were in the private sector. Since August of 2023, employment has increased year-over-year in four private sector industries: education and health services (+36,900); trade, transportation, and utilities (+12,500); professional and business services (+3,400); and other services (+1,400).
Year-over-year losses were recorded in these five sectors: information (-3,900); manufacturing (-3,400); financial activities (-2,200); leisure and hospitality (-2,000); and construction (-100).
The public sector has recorded a gain of 7,000 over the past 12 months.
New Jersey’s 4.8% unemployment rate for August was 0.1 percentage point than it was 12 months ago. The national unemployment rate last month was 4.2%.
