Initial state unemployment insurance claims declined by 6.8% to 8,357 for the week ending Oct. 18, according to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL).
Continued claims, which represent weeks of benefits claimed by individuals approved for unemployment benefits, totaled 89,201 for the week ending Oct.18, which is 1.5% less than the previous week and a slight 0.4% less than the comparable week last year.
Due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Labor has not been releasing its regular jobs report. NJDOL is using its internal administrative data to maintain continuity in public reporting and to assist with labor market insights.
The state data, which was released on Thursday, does not include claims filed by recently furloughed federal employees. Since the start of the federal government shutdown on Oct. 1, NJDOL has received over 850 claims from those impacted federal workers, and an additional 350 claims from non-federal workers also impacted by the shutdown.
