- Unemployment rate edged down to 5.2% in January; job count up more than 10,000 the last two months.
- Estimates of the state’s unemployment rate last year were boosted, and the job count numbers for the second half of the year were cut.
The delayed-released numbers on recent New Jersey labor market developments and the annual revision were mixed. The good news first: the state’s unemployment rate fell from 5.4% in December to 5.2% in January. That is still noticeably higher than the national rate of 4.4% in January, but it continues a slow descent from last summer’s 5.5%. The drop in the unemployment rate was mainly the result of an 8,000 increase in the number of residents at work—the state’s labor force was virtually unchanged.
Also on the plus side were the numbers on recent job growth. There was a 6,000 increase in jobs in the state in January, following a 5,400 gain in December. January saw marked increases in construction, professional and business services, and education and health, offset by a drop in leisure and hospitality. Construction, professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality have marked seasonal movements, and it’s possible the seasonal adjustments made to these did not adequately account for this year’s changes, so it’s not really clear if anything in particular should be made of their January results.
The January release was accompanied by the regular annual revisions. The new data show that the state’s unemployment rate was higher last year than originally estimated, starting at 4.9% in January before peaking a 5.5%. Contrary to expectations, the job count numbers for last year were also reduced (indeed, there were reductions, albeit small, for the past few years).
