New Jersey’s Unemployed Reach Record Numbers
By Patrick McGeehanThe rising tide of unemployment that has been sweeping across the country has officially reached the New York suburbs. For the first time in this recession, New Jersey’s unemployment rate has surpassed the national rate, the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development reported on Wednesday. New Jersey’s jobless rate jumped to 8.2 percent in February, from 7.3 percent in January. The national rate was 8.1 percent in February.
There now are more unemployed people in New Jersey — about 370,000 — than at any time since the state began keeping records in 1976, the department’s data show. The number of employed residents with jobs — 4.14 million — was the fewest since mid-2004.
“The troubled national economy continues to pose difficulties for many states including New Jersey,” said state Labor Commissioner David J. Socolow.
New Jersey lost more than 30,000 jobs in the first two months of 2009, including almost 20,000 in February, according to the report. The state’s unemployment rate has risen for 13 consecutive months.
Professional and business services accounted for more than half of last month’s losses, about 10,000 jobs, and has shed 42,700 jobs in the last year, the report said. The only sector of New Jersey’s economy that did not lose jobs was education and health services, which gained 13, 600.
The 12-month leap in the unemployment rate was the biggest ever. The state’s unemployment rate had never risen or fallen by more than 3 percentage points in any 12-month period in at least 30 years.
New York state, where the unemployment rate was 7 percent in January, is scheduled to release February figures for the state and New York City on Thursday.
No comments:
Post a Comment