This March, New Jersey’s job numbers didn’t continue the trend that had been building for several quarters, according to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
The agency reported that New Jersey lost approximately 17,500 total non-farm jobs in March, according to the new data. Job losses calculated to be a loss in 19,100 private-sector jobs, within the leisure and hospitality, trades, transportation and utilities. Some 1,600 public-sector positions were added in March. The report also adjusted February’s new job numbers downward from an increase of 12,600 total non-farm jobs down to only 10,900 new positions.
The state’s unemployment rate fell for a fourth straight month to 4.2%, which is below the national average of 4.5%. New Jersey’s 4.2% unemployment rate is the lowest seen since May 2007.
Notwithstanding, there was some good news on the New Jersey job front: Camden, New Jersey came in number one among the nation’s metropolitan regions as the area which had the largest over-the-year percentage growth in employment, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, according to NJ Biz.
The article stated, “The BLS data cited that the Camden metro area’s nonfarm employment increased by 3.7 percent from February 2016 to February 2017.
The BLS compared data from 34 of the 38 metropolitan divisions nationwide, including all five metro areas that cover New Jersey, putting Camden at the top, just above Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas.”