GSI Analysis: April ’23 Jobs Report – New Jersey’s Labor Market Strengthened in April

• Robust 15,800 job gain followed an upward revision of more than 5,000 to March
• Unemployment rate unchanged at 3.5%, slightly above U.S. average
• The labor force participation rate higher than any time since mid-2013

MORRISTOWN, NJ – On May 18th, New Jersey’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development issued the monthly jobs report for April 2023. Dr. Charles Steindel, former Chief Economist of the State of New Jersey, analyzed the report for the Garden State Initiative:

April was far, far, from the cruelest month (T.S. Eliot’s term) for New Jersey workers. The state added 15,800 to its payroll count, after two months in which there was virtually no change (There was a drop of 3,100 in February and an increase of 2,800 in March. March was initially reported as 2,600 drop). There were small losses in manufacturing, information, and government: all other sectors were up, most notably professional and business services, where the large 7,600 increase probably was in part due to improved weather helping categories such as landscaping.

The household report was, if anything, stronger. The state’s unemployment rate remained at 3.5% for the third straight month; thus, it slipped slightly above the national rate of 3.4%. However, the count of employed residents rose by 18,400, and there was a 17,800 increase in the labor force. New Jersey’s labor force participation rate in April was 65.0%, higher than any month since June 2013 (the national rate in April was 62.6).

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will issue its monthly “State Employment and Unemployment” report on Friday, May 19th, which offers a comparison of how New Jersey is faring relative to other states.