New Jersey’s jobless rate edged up .01 percentage point to 3.7% in June but the labor market remained resilient, gaining a net 600 jobs to reach a seasonally adjusted level of 4,338,300.
The labor force participation rate – the proportion of the state’s working-age population with jobs or actively searching for work – grew from a seasonally adjusted 65.2% in May to 65.4%, in June – the highest level since March 2013, according to the state labor officials.
The state’s employment to population ratio, which captures only those who are actually working, stood at 63.0% in June, the highest rate since September 2008, state officials said.
In June, four out of nine major private industry sectors in New Jersey recorded job growth, including education and health services (+2,000); leisure and hospitality (+1,700); information (+400); and other services (+200).
Sectors that recorded a loss in June include professional and business services (-1,600); financial activities (-700); manufacturing (-600); trade, transportation, and utilities (-500); and construction (-300). The public sector recorded no net change in employment for June.
Over the past 12 months, New Jersey has added 98,700 nonfarm jobs. These gains were distributed across several industries, with eight out of nine private sector industries recording a gain between June 2022 and June 2023.
Industries reporting gains include education and health services (+49,600); leisure and hospitality (+22,200); trade, transportation, and utilities (+8,900); other services (+5,000); professional and business services (+4,700); construction (+2,100); manufacturing (+1,500); and information (+1,300).
Losses were recorded in financial activities (-1,700) during the same 12-month period.
Year-over-year, the state’s public sector added 5,000 jobs.
The Department of Labor and Workforce Development said May’s earlier employment estimates have been revised upward by 1,900 to show an April to May gain of 11,700 jobs. Preliminary estimates had previously shown a lower gain of 9,800. The May unemployment rate was unchanged after these revisions, remaining at 3.6%.
The state’s 3.7% unemployment rate for June 2023 is 0.3 percentage points higher than it was in June of 2022.
