NEW JERSEY – Preliminary labor market estimates for November, produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), indicate a stable New Jersey labor market.
The state’s unemployment rate dropped by 0.1 percentage point to 4.6 percent, while total nonfarm employment increased by 3,100 jobs to reach a seasonally adjusted level of 4,391,600 jobs. Revised estimates of total nonfarm employment in October saw an upward revision of 1,500 jobs, resulting in a revised October estimate that was unchanged compared to September. The state’s unemployment rate for October also remained unchanged at 4.7 percent.
In November, six out of nine private industries recorded monthly employment gains including education and health services (+5,700), leisure and hospitality (+2,000), construction (+1,400), financial activities (+200), other services (+200), and manufacturing (+100). Sectors that recorded job losses include trade, transportation, and utilities (-3,500), professional and business services (-2,800), and information (-1,000). The public sector added 700 jobs for November.
Over the past 12 months New Jersey has added 38,400 nonfarm jobs, with about 80 percent of those gains in the private sector. Four out of nine private sector industries recorded gains since November 2023. These include private education and health services (+45,600), construction (+7,100), trade, transportation, and utilities (+5,300), and other services (+1,100). Losses were recorded year-over-year in professional and business services (-11,900), information (-6,300), leisure and hospitality (-6,000), financial activities (-2,300), and manufacturing (-1,800). The public sector has recorded a gain of 7,500 jobs over the past 12 months.
Preliminary BLS data for December 2024 will be released on January 23, 2025.
