Last week, the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development released its April job figures. As expected, employment fell by 14,400 and unemployment rose slightly - to 8.4%. Declines were felt in virtually every private-sector category, except education and health services which has remained strong throughout the recession. In the last 12 months, the private sector has shed 136,000 jobs while government grew by 2,400.
The DOL press release is available here and the detailed chart is available at this link.
Below is a chart put together by NJBIAwhich details sector job losses from New Jersey's pre-recession peak in January 2008.
Prior to this recession, job growth in the Garden State had not been as strong as previous expansions. From December 2000 until January 2008, NJ only added about 11,000 private sector jobs. Then the decline began.
In short, New Jersey did not enjoy the recent expansion, but is still absorbing significant job losses. Now the state is increasingly likely to experience a decade in which the private sector in the state shrinks, and one cannot pin that entirely on the current national recession.
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