New Jersey Unemployment Falls to 5.1 Percent, Within 0.1 Percent of National Rate
News Release – NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
New Jersey Unemployment Falls to 5.1 Percent, Within 0.1 Percent of National Rate
64,500 Private Sector Jobs Added in 2015 Represents Strongest Growth in 15 years
TRENTON, N.J., January 21, 2016 – New Jersey's private sector employers reported another month of solid growth in December, adding 12,500 jobs to bring the total private sector employment increase for 2015 to 64,500 jobs. This affirms 2015 as the strongest year of private sector job growth in 15 years and the sixth consecutive year of private sector growth in the Garden State, according to preliminary monthly data released by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
New Jersey's unemployment rate continued to tumble, dropping by 0.3 percentage points in December to 5.1 percent, off the national rate by 0.1 percent and down 4.7 percentage points since the recessionary high of 9.8 percent in January 2010. Total nonfarm employment rose by 13,300 jobs over the month to reach a seasonally adjusted total of 4,047,500 as measured by the BLS through its monthly employer survey. The number of residents reporting to have jobs in New Jersey reached an historic level for the fourth time in 2015, climbing to an all-time high of 4,332,900 in December after reaching a record 4,300,700 in November, according to the BLS household survey.
