New Jersey’s unemployment rate dipped by 0.2 percentage points to 3.9% during the month of May, the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development said Thursday.
This was the 10th straight monthly decline in the state unemployment rate; however, the New Jersey jobless rate was still higher than the 3.6% national unemployment rate in May.
DOL said total nonfarm private sector employment in New Jersey increased by 6,500 jobs in May to reach a seasonally adjusted level of 4,199,100. New Jersey has now recovered 703,300 jobs, or about 96%, of the number lost in March and April 2020 at the start of the pandemic when government-ordered shutdowns to protect public health closed many businesses.
In May, employment increases were recorded in six out of nine major private sectors: financial activities (+2,600), education and health services (+2,600), leisure and hospitality (+2,000), other services (+1,500), information (+400), and professional and business services (+100).
Sectors that saw job losses were construction (-1,300), manufacturing (-1,300), and trade, transportation, and utilities (-100).
Over the month of May, public sector employment increased by 200 jobs.
The DOL’s complete labor market activity data tables can be viewed here.
