October 9, 2025
TRENTON – The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) today announced unemployment insurance claims data for the week ending October 4, 2025.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits totaled 8,836 for the week ending October 4, an increase of 11.6 percent compared to the previous week's total of 7,921. UI initial claims for the comparable week last year totaled 9,558. Continued claims, which represent weeks of benefits claimed by individuals approved for UI, totaled 88,732 for the week ending October 4, which was 2.4 percent less than the previous week and 2.0 percent less than the comparable week last year.
Due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Labor is currently unable to release its regular economic data. In response, NJDOL is utilizing internal administrative data to maintain continuity in public reporting to assist with timely labor market insights. This release represents the Department's commitment to transparency and informed decision-making.
This unemployment data does not include those federal employees who have applied for unemployment insurance benefits as a result of recent furloughs. Since the start of the shutdown on October 1, 2025, the Department has received over 500 UI claims from impacted federal workers.
Federal workers seeking unemployment information should go to MyUnemployment.nj.gov/federal.
For more information on available digital career resources, visit NJ’s premier career information portal at MyCareer.nj.gov.
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