NJ Unemployment Rate Drops to 9.1 Percent

New Jersey's unemployment declined for the third month in a row and private sector employers created 4,000 jobs over the last month, the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced Thursday.

The state’s unemployment rate dropped by 0.1 percent to 9.1 percent. 

Preliminary estimates indicate that total nonfarm wage and salary employment increased by 2,500 in October as measured by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics through its monthly employer survey. Private sector employment increased 4,000, while public sector payrolls declined by 1,500. 

“The rebound in the job count in October, along with the drop in the unemployment rate, suggests that the state’s economy continues to move forward.  The pace of improvement is much less than we all desire, but we are going the right way,” said Charles Steindel, chief economist for the New Jersey Department of Treasury. 

Industries that recorded job gains:

• other services (+2,900)
• educational and health services (+2,600)
• manufacturing (+1,500)
• trade, transportation and utilities (+600)
• professional and business services (+500)
• local government (+500)

Industries that recorded job losses:

• information (-1,600)
• leisure and hospitality (-1,100)
• financial activities (-700)
• construction (-700)
• state government (-2,000)