Official Site of The State of New JerseyNew Jersey Labor Market Holds Steady for May
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 19, 2025
TRENTON – Preliminary labor market estimates for May, produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, indicated continued stability in New Jersey’s labor market. Total nonfarm employment for May was estimated at a seasonally adjusted level of 4,394,500 jobs, the same level as it was in April. The state’s unemployment rate also remained unchanged compared to April, at 4.8 percent.
April employment estimates were adjusted downward by 3,800 jobs, resulting in a March to April gain of 1,000 jobs. Preliminary April estimates initially indicated a gain of 4,800 jobs. The state’s unemployment rate for April remained unchanged at 4.8 percent.
In May, five out of nine private industries recorded employment gains compared to April. Those sectors were leisure and hospitality (+4,200), professional and business services (+900), manufacturing (+400), trade, transportation, and utilities (+300), and financial activities (+100). Sectors that recorded job losses include education and health services (-1,700), construction (-1,100), information (-900), and other services (-900). The public sector lost 1,300 jobs in May.
Over the past 12 months, New Jersey has added 25,300 nonfarm jobs, with 82 percent of those gains in the private sector. Five out of nine private sector industries recorded a gain between May 2024 and May 2025. These include private education and health services (+35,000), other services (+1,500), financial activities (+1,400), and manufacturing (+500). Losses were recorded year-over-year in information (-5,000), construction (-4,600), trade, transportation, and utilities (-4,100), professional and business services (-3,200), and leisure and hospitality (-800). The public sector has recorded a gain of 4,600 jobs over the past 12 months.
Preliminary BLS estimates data for June 2025 will be released on July 17, 2025.
NJ Employment Situation Highlights: May 2025
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/.