The most recent employment estimates for October and November, produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, show a net loss of 5,300 jobs over the two-month period in New Jersey.Â
Total nonfarm employment decreased in November by 1,700 to a seasonally adjusted level of 4,396,000 jobs, while October’s estimates show a net loss of 3,600 jobs. Data collection and the release of these estimates were delayed because of the federal government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1.
Both the October and November employment estimates will also undergo routine revisions.
The state’s unemployment rate for November rose to 5.4%, a 0.2 percentage point increase from September. That is the highest monthly figure since December 2021. This compares with the 4.6% national unemployment rate, which has been rising since June 2025.
Labor force data for October, including the unemployment rate, are not available due to the lack of household survey data collection during the federal government shutdown. Â
Revised estimates of total nonfarm employment in September show a slight downward revision of 500, resulting in a revised August to September gain of 10,400 jobs.
In November, three out of nine private industry sectors recorded employment gains compared with October. Those sectors were private education and health services (+4,900), trade, transportation and utilities (+1,800) and financial activities (+800).
Areas that recorded job losses include professional and business services (-3,600), leisure and hospitality (-2,800), construction (-2,000), manufacturing (-800), and information (-100). Other services recorded no change over the month. The public sector recorded a gain of 100 jobs for November.
Over the past 12 months, New Jersey has added 20,600 nonfarm jobs as private sector employment increased by 18,800 jobs. Four out of nine private industry sectors posted a gain – private education and health services (+28,200), professional and business services (+12,200), manufacturing (+700) and financial activities (+100).
Losses were recorded year-over-year in construction (-12,500), trade, transportation and utilities (-3,200), information (-3,000), other services (-2,100) and leisure and hospitality (-1,500). The public sector posted a gain of 1,800 jobs over the past 12 months.
Preliminary BLS data for December 2025 will be released on Jan. 22.
