Even as N.J. reopens, there’s a big spike in unemployment claims. Here’s why.

More than 47,000 new claims poured into the unemployment offices during the week ending July 4, fueling the biggest single-week spike the state Labor Department has seen since early May.

Furloughed state employees and workers laid off when the school year ended in June account for much of that, the Department of Labor said Thursday.

The jump comes weeks after falling unemployment claims. More than 1.3 million New Jersey workers have filed for unemployment since mid-March — the beginning of the pandemic, which forced much of the state to effectively shut down to curb the spread of coronavirus, le… Read the rest of this entry »

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O’Scanlon: Time for NJ to reclaim its manufacturing -pharmaceutical industry leadership role

Senator Declan O’Scanlon today called on the Legislature and Governor’s office to coordinate efforts to spearhead a rebirth of New Jersey’s once world-leading manufacturing and pharmaceutical research and production industries.

“The time is right now for New Jersey to be planning to take a lead role in re-domesticating these critical industries” said Senator O’Scanlon. “We still have the educated workforce, we still have incredible research universities, we still have the capital and investment resources and we still have the foundation of industrial knowledge and capability that made New Jersey the pharmaceutical and industrial capital of the world last century.

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N.J. lost thousands of jobs in February

TRENTON — New Jersey’s unemployment rate fell two percentage points in February, even as the state recorded a loss of more than 10,000 private-sector jobs. The state also gained 1,600 public-sector jobs in February, bringing the total job losses to 8,600. But the February unemployment rate, 4.3 percent, is the lowest since pre-recession August 2007, according… Read the rest of this entry »

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Op-Ed: We Must Take Steps to Reverse the Economic Impact of Outmigration

By Michele Siekerka, President and CEO, New Jersey Business and Industry Association

I can’t go to a family gathering, out with friends, to a meeting with NJBIA members, or even to my local diner without hearing people talking about the cost of living in New Jersey and how they are planning their exit strategy. Marry these real-life discussions with the findings of our recent Business Outlook… Read the rest of this entry »

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Record number of N.J. residents living in poverty, study finds

More New Jersey residents are in poverty now than in the past five decades and the outlook for the future is bleak in a state that boasts being one of the wealthiest in the nation, according to a report released Sunday. The findings in the study done for Legal Services of New Jersey paint a grim… Read the rest of this entry »

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More than 240K N.J. mortgages said to be ‘seriously underwater’

The share of “seriously underwater” properties in New Jersey declined from a year ago, according to a new report, but more than 240,000 homes still fell into that category in the third quarter of this year. Residents owed at least 25 percent over what what their home is worth on 13.8 percent of all residential properties… Read the rest of this entry »

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Gov. Christie signs revised N.J. sports betting bill

New Jersey Governor Christie on Friday signed a revised sports betting bill, and Monmouth Park officials almost simultaneously said they would offer betting on National Football League games at the horse track on Oct. 26. “The Governor’s signature on S2460 earlier today is a wire-to-wire winner for horse racing, the gaming industry and the people of… Read the rest of this entry »

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Report: 38% of New Jersey Households Are Not Meeting Basic Needs

You can’t have everything you want (or need) in ALICE’S New Jersey

1.2 million New Jersey households, including 890,000 households with employed adults (28% of the states population) are not making ends meet, according to a report released by the United Way of Northern New Jersey.

The working poor are dubbed as Asset Limited, Income Constrained and Employed (ALICE) by the UWNNJ.  These are families of four earning less than $62,000 and single adults earning less than $28,000…the income levels needed to provide housing, food, child care, health care and transportation in New Jersey according to the report.

The report says that 53% of all jobs in New Jersey pay less than $20 per hour or $40,000 per year.

71% of ALICE households are white.  31% are in the prime wage earning years of 45-64.

85% of New Jersey’s 560 towns have 20% of their population struggling to survive.

The study is based on data through 2012 and does not fully measure the impact that Superstorm Sandy had on New Jersey’s economy.

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Reeling from casino closures, Atlantic City boosters attempt to change resort’s sub-Vegas reputation

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Jobless rate rises in NJ as state lost 1,300 jobs in March

Jobless rate rises in NJ as state lost 1,300 jobs in March (via NJ.com)

Unemployment rose slightly in New Jersey last month as the state lost about 1,300 jobs, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The private sector shed 700 jobs, according to the report, and the public sector lost 600…

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