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Department of Labor & Workforce Development

NJ’s Job Gains Continue with Slight Uptick in December

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 19, 2023

TRENTON – New Jersey’s labor market grew slightly in December, adding 1,400 nonfarm jobs to a seasonally adjusted level of 4,265,700, according to preliminary estimates produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.  

Private sector employment rose by 100 jobs for the month, continuing a streak of 32 consecutive months of growth starting in May 2020. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.4 percent.  

November employment estimates were revised upward by 6,400, for an adjusted gain of 18,100 jobs between October and November. The unemployment rate remained unchanged, at 3.4 percent. 

In December, four out of nine major private industry sectors recorded job growth. They were education and health services (+4,400), trade, transportation, and utilities (+2,200), other services (+500), and information (+100). Sectors that recorded a loss for the month were construction (-3,400), professional and business services (-2,500), manufacturing (-500), financial activities (-400), and leisure and hospitality (-300). Month-over-month, the state’s public sector increased by 1,300 jobs. 

For all of 2022, preliminary estimates show job growth was broad-based, with all but one of the nine major private industry sectors recording job gains. The sectors that added jobs for the year were trade, transportation, and utilities (+38,700), education and health services (+38,200), leisure and hospitality (+37,600), other services (+15,600), professional and business services (+13,000), financial activities (+4,200), manufacturing (+2,400), and information (+300). Construction (-8,900) was the only sector to record a loss. Year-over-year, the state’s public sector added 7,800 jobs. 

Preliminary BLS data for January 2023, as well as benchmarked data that presents a more complete picture of the New Jersey economy for calendar year 2022, will be released on March 13.  

PRESS TABLES

Technical Notes: Estimates of industry employment and unemployment levels are arrived at through the use of two different monthly surveys.    

Industry employment data are derived through the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, a monthly survey of approximately 4,000 business establishments conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor, which provides estimates of employment, hours, and earnings data broken down by industry for the nation as a whole, all states and most major metropolitan areas (often referred to as the “establishment” survey). 

Resident employment and unemployment data are mainly derived from the New Jersey portion of the national Current Population Survey (CPS), a household survey conducted each month by the U.S. Census Bureau under contract with BLS, which provides input to the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program (often referred to as the “household” survey). 

Both industry and household estimates are revised each month based on additional information from updated survey reports compiled by the BLS. In addition, these estimates are benchmarked (revised) annually based on actual counts from New Jersey’s Unemployment Compensation Law administrative records and more complete data from all New Jersey employers.

Effective with the release of January 2018 estimates, the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program has converted to concurrent seasonal adjustment, which uses all available estimates, including those for the current month, in developing seasonal factors. Previously, the CES program developed seasonal factors once a year during the annual benchmark process. For more information on concurrent seasonal adjustment in the CES State and Area program, see https://www.bls.gov/sae/seasonal-adjustment/.

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