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NJ unemployment rate rises to 16.6 percent

The state’s unemployment rate rose by 1.2 percentage points to 16.6 percent. The state’s unemployment remains higher than the United States as a whole (11.1 percent), likely because New Jersey was one of the states hit hardest by the pandemic early on.  

Many residents have reported to Planet Princeton and other news outlets that they are still having difficulty applying for and receiving unemployment insurance payments in New Jersey. Some residents have been trying to receive the benefits since March and say it is still impossible to talk to a worker on the phone when they call the Department of Labor.

New Jersey employers recalled workers in June as the partial reopening of the state’s economy from COVID-19 related closures continued. Total nonfarm wage and salary employment in New Jersey increased by 130,900 in June to a seasonally adjusted level of 3,630,400 people, according to estimates released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Coupled with previously gains in May, New Jersey has now recovered a total of 219,800 jobs, or about 26 percent of the job loss in March and April, state officials said.

State officials said the Bureau of Labor Statistics continues to acknowledge the difficulty in classifying responses from the household survey, which may have resulted in understating the level of the unemployed residents and overstating the number of employed residents in prior months.

Based on more complete reporting from employers, previously released total nonfarm employment estimates for May were revised higher by 2,100 to show an April to May increase of 88,900 jobs. Preliminary estimates had indicated an over-the-month gain of 86,800 jobs. The state’s revised May unemployment rate was revised up by 0.2 percentage points to 15.4 percent. 

In June, job gains were recorded in eight out of nine major private industry sectors. The largest gains were recorded in trade, transportation, and utilities (+41,800 jobs), leisure and hospitality (+35,300 jobs), education and health services (+33,000 jobs), other services (+7,400 jobs), construction (+7,100 jobs), professional and business services (+6,700 jobs), manufacturing (+3,300 jobs), and information (+200 jobs). The only sector to record a loss over the month was financial activities (-700 jobs). Over the month, public sector employment was lower by 3,300, with the losses concentrated at the local level (-4,800 jobs).

Preliminary Bureau of Labor data for July will be released Aug. 20, officials said.