Official Site of The State of New Jersey

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 27, 2025

TRENTON – Preliminary labor market estimates for February, produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, indicate the state’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.6 percent, while total non-farm employment increased by 19,200 jobs and reached a record high seasonally adjusted level of 4,402,000 jobs. Although New Jersey’s unemployment rate has changed little in recent months, monthly non-farm employment estimates have increased by 25,800 jobs since November. 

Employment estimates from December to January were revised down by 4,900, resulting in a total loss of 11,000, compared to the preliminary job loss estimate of 6,100. The January unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.6 percent.  

In February, five out of nine private industries recorded employment gains compared to January. Sectors that recorded employment gains included education and health services (+3,900), trade, transportation, and utilities (+2,500), professional and business services (+1,200), construction (+300), and manufacturing (+200). Sectors that recorded job losses include financial activities (-1,200), information (-100), leisure and hospitality (-100), and other services (-100). The public sector added 12,600 jobs in February. 

Over the past 12 months, New Jersey has added 45,800 non-farm jobs, with 82 percent of those gains in the private sector. Six out of nine private sector industries recorded a jobs gain between February 2024 and February 2025. These included private education and health services (+36,800), leisure and hospitality (+3,900), other services (+2,500), manufacturing (+1,800), trade, transportation, and utilities (+1,000), and financial activities (+600). Losses were recorded year-over-year in information (-4,400), professional and business services (-4,000), and construction (-500). The public sector has recorded a gain of 8,100 over the past 12 months. 

Preliminary BLS estimates data for March 2025 will be released on April 17, 2025. 

NJ Employment Situation Highlights: February 2025

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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