GSI Analysis: June ’24 Jobs Report – New Jersey Labor Market Sluggish in June

• Total count of jobs edged down; May increase revised down.
• Unemployment rate unchanged at 4.6%, but there were increases in the labor force and employment.

On July 18th, New Jersey’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development issued the Monthly Jobs Report for May 2024. Dr. Charles Steindel, former Chief Economist of the State of New Jersey, analyzed the report for the Garden State Initiative:

June was blah for New Jersey’s labor market. The state’s job count edged down 1,200, and the numbers for May were revised down. The new figures show that payroll employment rose 10,500 in May, which is still an impressive monthly gain, but noticeably lower than the initially reported 16,500. Indeed, from March to June the number of jobs in the state grew by only 3,000—less than one-tenth of one percent.

Job losses in June were centered in finance (down 1,200) and leisure and hospitality (down 2,100). Government employment rose by 1,700. Seasonal hiring in leisure and hospitality and in government (think lifeguards) are large and erratic in June—both areas saw large increases in May prior to the seasonal adjustment of the numbers. So it’s possible that the true job situation is somewhat better or somewhat worse than the headline numbers suggest, and revisions, or the July numbers could clarify that. Still, there’s nothing here to suggest a vibrant pace of growth.

The numbers on unemployment and the labor force were a touch better. The unemployment rate was an unchanged 4.6%–still higher than the nation’s 4.1%, but not remarkably so. There was a fairly solid gain of 8,100 in New Jersey’s labor force (the largest monthly increase since April 2023), and total employment of New Jersey residents rose 9,700, which is the largest gain since August 2022. However, both the labor force and employment in June 2024 were lower than a year earlier.

New York state data for June are also (as of July 18) available. New York did somewhat better on the job front than New Jersey, with a gain of 13,200; however, nearly half that gain was in the public sector, and like New Jersey, their May job gain was revised down (this was also true for the nation as a whole). In the private sector, New York saw a modest increase, compared to our slight loss. New York’s unemployment rate was an unchanged 4.2%, but unlike New Jersey the number of employed residents, and the labor force, fell slightly.