- New Jersey lost jobs for a third straight month: Total payroll employment declined by 1,700 in August, following July’s revised loss of 20,900 jobs and a 4,200 drop in June. Private-sector employment was essentially flat.
- The state underperformed the nation: New Jersey failed to rebound from July’s steep losses while the nation added 162,000 jobs, making the overall report discouraging despite the lower unemployment rate.
- Unemployment rate fell to 4.3% with increases in both employment and the labor force.
For the second month in a row the two monthly labor market surveys painted differing pictures of New Jersey’s labor market. The household survey reports continuing healthy improvement. The state’s unemployment rate fell to 4.3%–its eighth straight drop. As was the case in July, there was a marked increase (11,056) in the number of residents employed, which more than offset a 7,157 increase in the labor force.
Once again, the report on the number of jobs in the state was noticeably different. The total count was down 1,700. Private sector jobs, though, registered a tiny increase of 200. Aside from the 1,900 drop in government jobs, the most notable movements was a 3,500 decline in professional and business services, and a 3,400 increase in leisure and hospitality. There tend to be marked, but erratic, losses in the raw counts in government, professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality in August, as seasonal workers leave, which means the reported sectoral changes (adjusted to correct for typical monthly moves) did not necessarily represent any important changes. On balance the state’s job figures look to be little changed in August.
The soft figures on jobs is a disappointment, following the very large drop in July (that was revised from the initial 25,600 to 20,900). One might have expected some sort of correction, and August’s fairly strong 162,000 increase in jobs for the nation as a whole might also have suggested a better number for New Jersey. Thus, despite the ongoing good news on the unemployment front, the overall report was, on balance, rather discouraging.
The state underperformed the nation: New Jersey failed to rebound from July’s steep losses while the nation added 162,000 jobs, making the overall report discouraging despite the lower unemployment rate. However, our August showing was not as bad as New York, which lost 23,500 jobs.
