Official Site of The State of New JerseyNew Jersey Employment Report: July 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 20, 2026
TRENTON – Preliminary nonfarm employment estimates for July, produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that New Jersey payrolls decreased by 25,600 over the month, resulting in a seasonally adjusted employment level of 4,357,600 nonfarm jobs. The state’s unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage point to 4.4 percent from June to July.
Employment estimates for June were revised downwards to show a May to June loss of 4,200 jobs (preliminary estimates: ‑300). The state’s unemployment rate for June remained at 4.5 percent.
The size of the July employment loss is likely overstated, as seasonal adjustment factors do not adequately account for seasonal declines in professional and business services. July survey response rates were also lower than expected.
During July, three out of nine private industry sectors recorded employment gains compared to June. Those sectors were trade, transportation, and utilities (+600), manufacturing (+100), and information (+100). Sectors that recorded job losses during this same period include professional and business services (‑13,400), leisure and hospitality (‑7,300), private education and health services (‑2,700), construction (‑1,300), other services (‑1,100), and financial activities (‑900). The public sector recorded a gain of 300 jobs for the month.
Over the year, the state recorded an employment loss of 19,600 nonfarm jobs, with the private sector recording a loss of 20,000 nonfarm jobs. The private education and health services industry recorded a year-over-year increase of 26,400 jobs. Losses were recorded year-over-year in leisure and hospitality (‑12,800), trade, transportation, and utilities (‑8,000), professional and business services (‑7,000), construction (‑4,900), information (‑4,100), manufacturing (‑3,800), financial activities (‑3,300), and other services (‑2,500). The public sector recorded a gain of 400 jobs.
Preliminary BLS estimates data for August and revised estimates for July will be released on September 17, 2026.
NJ Employment Situation Highlights: July 2026
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 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/.