Garden State Initiative has released an analysis of New Jersey’s newest job numbers, and said the state is still lagging behind the United States with its loss of 7,600 private sector jobs in April.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the state lost 7,600 jobs in April while the public sector added 800 positions.
Additionally, the report shows the state’s workforce shrank by 2,300 in May to 4.4 million, remaining below 2008’s average annual workforce of 4.5 million.
“Our state is an outlier from the positive national trend of adding private sector jobs to the economy,” Regina M. Egea, president, Garden State Initiative, said. “Coupled with a workforce size that remains below when the last recession occurred in 2008, everyone in New Jersey needs to be concerned about how our lack of competitiveness is hurting our state’s economy.”
Due to the state’s shrinking workforce, GSI said, the state’s unemployment rate declined by 0.1% to 3.8%.
The BLS report indicated job losses in seven out of nine major private industries:
- Professional and Business Services (-3,500);
- Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-2,300);
- Education and Health Services (-1,900);
- Other Services (-1,400);
- Manufacturing (-500);
- Leisure and Hospitality (-300);
- Information (-100).
Job gains were reported in the Construction (+800) and Financial Activities (+800) sectors.
The gains in the financial sector were welcomed by GSI, it said, since it had reported year-to-date losses of 8,100 positions in April.
