Seasonal Spike in Local Unemployment

Unemployment in Belleville reached a seasonal high in January but was still down from last year, a sign of a slowly improving jobs market.

There were 17,886 Belleville residents in the workforce in January, of whom 15,867 were employed and 2,019 who were unemployed, according to figures just released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By government definitions, the workforce is comprised of those who are employed plus those who are actively seeking work.   

The unemployment rate among township residents was 11.3 percent, the highest it’s been in several months. A year ago, in January 2010, the unemployment rate was 12.1 percent.  

Unemployment, however, tends to spike in the month of January as seasonal workers lose their jobs following the year-end holidays. The local unemployment rate has generally stayed below 10 percent for several months.

Statewide, the unemployment rate was 9.1 percent, down from 9.8 percent a year ago. In Essex County, the rate was 11.1 percent in January.