NJ's Unemployment Rate Falls To 4.1 Percent, Still Higher Than Nat'l

NEW JERSEY — Despite the fact that inflation, interest rates and gas prices continue to rise, it is getting rarer and rarer — if not downright impossible — to find someone in New Jersey who cannot find a job.

New Jersey’s employment growth continued for the 17th consecutive month in April, according to this latest data released May 19 by the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

This comes after thousands of job losses were reported in mid-2020 at the height of the pandemic, and Gov. Phil Murphy ordered small businesses such as gyms and restaurants closed for up to five months due to fear of the virus.

In fact, today, New Jersey's economy is nearly back to its pre-pandemic levels, says the Dept. of Labor.

The state added 695,700 new jobs in the past year, or about 95 percent of the number lost in March and April 2020 during the shutdowns. So far in 2022, New Jersey has added an average of 18,700 jobs per month.

As of May, New Jersey's unemployment rate fell to 4.1 percent. It was 5.1 percent in January.

However, New Jersey's unemployment rate is still higher than the national unemployment rate, which is 3.6 percent.

According to the Department of Labor, these are the industries in New Jersey that are seeing the most job growth right now:

• Leisure and hospitality (added 4,700 new jobs in the month of April alone)
• Trade, transportation and utilities (+4,400)
• Education and health services (+4,200)
• Other services (+1,200)
• Professional and business services (+1,000)
• Manufacturing (+800)
• Financial activities (+500) and financial-related information services (+300)

Construction (-2,600) was the only sector that decreased in May from the prior month. Over the month of May, public sector employment increased by 200 jobs.