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What Is The Unemployment Rate In Nj

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Excluded Workers Pushed Further Behind

New Jersey’s Unemployment Rate

Federal pandemic unemployment insurance programs provided financial support to many, but not all, workers who lost their jobs, as many New Jersey residents were left out, including certain immigrants, people recently released from the carceral system, and workers in the informal economy, including day laborers and domestic workers.

To lift these discriminatory barriers to critical financial support, the federal unemployment insurance program and immigration policy must be reformed. To that end, federal lawmakers are considering creating permanent protections and a path to citizenship for DACA recipients, TPS holders, farmworkers, and other essential workers, which would not only improve the economic security of these workers, but also improve their ability to contribute to and strengthen New Jerseys vibrant communities and local economies. In the meantime, state lawmakers can temporarily address shortfalls in federal unemployment insurance and other safety net programs by making targeted investments in communities that are often excluded from public programs.

Do You Meet The Minimum Earnings Requirement

Virtually all states look at your recent work history and earnings during a one-year “base period” to determine your eligibility for unemployment. . In New Jersey, as in most states, the base period is the earliest four of the five complete calendar quarters before you filed your benefits claim. For example, if you filed your claim in October of 2021, the base period would be from June 1, 2020, through May 31, 2021.

During the base period, your earnings must meet one of the following requirements:

You must have worked at least 20 weeks in the base period and earned at least $200 per week, or

You must have earned at least $10,000 total during the base period.

Are You Out Of Work Through No Fault Of Your Own

You must be out of work through no fault of your own to qualify for unemployment benefits.

Collecting Unemployment After a Layoff

If you were laid off, lost your job in a reduction-in-force , or got “downsized” for economic reasons, you will meet this requirement.

Collecting Unemployment After Being Fired

If you were fired because you lacked the skills to perform the job or simply weren’t a good fit, you won’t necessarily be barred from receiving benefits. However, if your actions rise to the level of “misconduct,” you will not be eligible for unemployment. New Jersey law distinguishes among three different types of misconduct:

  • Simple misconduct: when an employee’s actions go against the employer’s best interests, such as being insubordinate or being absent or late without a prior written warning.
  • Severe misconduct: when an employee engages in more serious offenses, such as showing up to work under the influence of drugs or alcohol, stealing or destroying company property, or being absent or late after a written warning.
  • Gross misconduct: when an employee’s actions qualify as criminal acts under New Jersey law.

For simple misconduct, an individual is barred from receiving unemployment for seven weeks from the date of termination. For severe and gross misconduct, individuals are disqualified from receiving benefits until they establish employment with another employer for a certain period of time and meet additional earnings requirements.

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New Jerseys Unemployment Rate Is Americas 3rd Highest

Fridays hot-off-the-presses report from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics found New Jersey suffering with Americas third highest unemployment rate at 7.0% as of October 2021, Save Jerseyans. Thats a decrease from 7.2% in September but still stubbornly high given that the national average is 4.6%.

Only California and Nevada fared worse.

to view the full report.

Sui Tax Rate By State

What Is The Unemployment Rate In New Jersey Right Now ...

Here is a list of the non-construction new employer tax rates for each state and Washington D.C. . Note that some states require employees to contribute state unemployment tax.

** Some states are still finalizing their SUI tax information for 2021 . For example, Texas will not release 2021 information until June due to COVID-19. We will update this information as the states do.

State

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Nj Jobless Rate Dips Slightly To 71% But No September Hiring Surge

New Jerseys unemployment rate dipped slightly to 7.1% in September from 7.2% the month prior but the hiring surge some economists had expected to occur after extended pandemic jobless benefits ended on Sept. 4 did not materialize, data released today showed.

Meanwhile the national unemployment rate fell 4.8% in September. New Jerseys 7.1% rate is the third-highest in the nation, exceeded only by California and Nevada, both 7.5%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today.

Preliminary estimates from the BLS show New Jersey nonfarm employment increased by 21,500 in September to a seasonally adjusted level of 4.05 million. Gains were split roughly even between the private sector and the public sector of the states economy.

Based on more complete reporting from employers, the previously released August nonfarm employment estimate of 20,300 was revised downward to 18,300 jobs. The unemployment rate for August, however, remained unchanged at 7.2%.

In September, employment increases were recorded in seven out of nine major private sectors. Sectors that recorded job gains include professional and business services , leisure and hospitality , trade, transportation, and utilities , construction , manufacturing , education and health services , and financial activities .

Sectors that recorded job losses include other services and information . Over the month, public sector employment increased by 9,600 jobs, concentrated at the local level .

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Unemployment in New Jersey is still higher than it was in pre-pandemic days. The annual unemployment rate for the state’s labor force in 2019 was 3.4, according to the labor bureau.

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The national unemployment rate nearly tripled from the summers of 2019 to 2020, a clear result of shutdowns related to the pandemic. The rate skyrocketed from 3.7 percent to 10.2 percent from July 2019 to July 2020, according to the labor bureau.

Numbers from July 2021 do show unemployment across the country is down nearly a half from the year before, although continued job gains could be in jeopardy due to the recent surge in delta variant coronavirus cases.

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About State Unemployment Tax

When you have employees, you must pay federal and state unemployment taxes. These taxes fund unemployment programs and pay out benefits to employees who lose their jobs through no fault of their own.

Generally, unemployment taxes are employer-only taxes, meaning you do not withhold the tax from employee wages. However, some states require that you withhold additional money from employee wages for state unemployment taxes.

State unemployment tax is a percentage of an employees wages. Each state sets a different range of tax rates. Your tax rate might be based on factors like your industry, how many former employees received unemployment benefits, and experience.

You pay SUTA tax to the state where the work is taking place. If your employees all work in the state your business is located in, you will pay SUTA tax to the state your business is located in. But if your employees work in different states, you will pay SUTA tax to each state an employee works in.

States also set wage bases for unemployment tax. This means you will only contribute unemployment tax until the employee earns above a certain amount.

State unemployment taxes are referred to as SUTA tax or state unemployment insurance . Or, they may be referred to as reemployment taxes .

Loss Of Unemployment Insurance Disproportionately Harms Women And People Of Color

New Jersey Jobless Rate Hits New Low Of 3.3%

Unemployment insurance claims reflect the racial and gender disparities in employment that have persisted during the pandemic. New Jersey workers who are women, Black, and Hispanic/Latinx make up a disproportionate share of unemployment insurance claims relative to their share of the states workforce. For example, while Hispanic/Latinx workers make up 19 percent of New Jerseys workforce, 23 percent of unemployment claimants in New Jersey are Hispanic/Latinx. Women are also overrepresented among unemployment claimants in New Jersey while women make up 48 percent of New Jerseys workforce, 54 percent of unemployment claimants in New Jersey since March 2020, on average, are women.

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How We Calculate Benefits

If you qualify for Unemployment Insurance benefits, the amount of money you’ll get each week is called your . This amount will depend on how much you earned in the before you applied for Unemployment Insurance benefits.

There are other factors that may reduce your WBR, like whether you are working part-time or collecting a pension.

Note: To be eligible for Unemployment Insurance benefits in 2021, you must have earned at least $220 per week during 20 or more weeks in covered employment during the base year period, or you must have earned at least $11,000 in total covered employment during the base year period. For more information, .

Weekly Benefit Rate

The weekly benefit rate is capped at a maximum amount based on the state minimum wage. For 2021, the maximum weekly benefit rate is $731. We will calculate your weekly benefit rate at 60% of the you earned during the , up to that maximum. We determine the average weekly wage based on wage information your employer report.

If you are not entitled to the weekly , you may be able to increase your entitlement with .

If after we calculate your weekly benefit rate, you realize that we did not include wages because they were not reported by your employer, contact us for a . You will need to provide pay stubs as proof of your earnings.

Dependency benefits

If your weekly benefit rate is less than the maxium weekly benefit rate and you have dependents, you may qualify for .

Maximum benefit amount
Benefit calculator
Part-time work

New Jerseys Labor Market Gains Are Unevenly Distributed

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, New Jerseys labor market lost an unprecedented 717,000 jobs as employment plummeted from 4.2 million in February 2020 to 3.5 million in April 2020. New Jersey has seen steady job growth in recent months, recovering 62 percent of jobs lost in March and April 2020. More than one year later, a substantial gap in the labor market remains in July 2021, New Jersey had nearly 276,000 fewer jobs than just before the pandemic, according to the latest jobs report.

While the full impact of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases remains unknown, this resurgence will heighten concerns about health and safety among both workers and consumers and could lead to the loss of recent gains in employment.

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Nj’s Unemployment Rate Falls To 10

The New Jersey job market is getting stronger, though it still lags other parts of the U.S.

The state’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.4 percent in May, according to preliminary estimates produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That number represents the lowest statewide rate in more than a decade, according to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

New Jersey’s unemployment rate has as the state’s private sector has strengthened, but it still sits well above the national average of 3.8 percent.

In May, New Jersey employers added to their payrolls. Total nonfarm wage and salary employment increased by 4,100, with the majority of the increase occurring in the private sector.

The decreasing unemployment rate in the Garden State is an indication that the local economy is improving, experts say, but the people of New Jersey should not get their hopes up.

Economists and policy experts say New Jersey is in a unsustainable bubble that will most likely burst next year, causing layoffs. And the government, they say, has not implemented policies that will help residents earn higher wages and spend more as consumers.

The state is in its 107th month of expansion — the second largest expansion in American history, and there’s a good chance it will continue until the summer of 2019, said James Hughes, a faculty fellow at Rutgers University’s John H. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development.

Gsi: October 21 Nj Jobs Report: Job Recovery Continues As Unemployment Falls Further Behind The Nation

New Jersey unemployment rate: It
  • State adds 20,000 jobs, remains 200,000 below pre-pandemic level
  • NJs 7.0% Unemployment Rate is 2.4% higher than U.S. average, which fell .2% to 4.6%
  • Despite recent gains, Leisure & Hospitality remain 20% below pre-pandemic
  • Workforce remains 140,700 smaller than February 20
  • Distinct differences in jobs recovery among NJs regions

Morristown, NJ On November 18th, New Jerseys Department of Labor and Workforce Development issued the monthly jobs report for October 2021. Dr. Charles Steindel, former Chief Economist of the State of New Jersey, analyzed the report for the Garden State Initiative:

New Jersey employers added a net 20,000 jobs in October . This was the sixth straight month seeing a job increase of 17,000 or higheran unprecedented streak. But the recent gains need to be balanced against the losses during the pandemic. New Jerseys job count is still a bit more than 200,000 under the February 2020 peak. Job growth will need to continue at the recent fairly brisk pace for some time to get back there, even taking into account the likelihood that there will be a significant upward revision in the numbers in March.

Employment Developments Within the State

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New Jersey Unemployment Statistics

Understanding the severity and trends of unemployment in New Jersey is vital to ensuring the overall well-being of communities. The unemployment rate, reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics , is the percent of } residents in the labor force who are unemployed. The labor force is essentially the pool of residents in New Jersey who are available to work it excludes people not seeking employment, such as retired seniors and small children.

Because the unemployment rate can vary in predictable ways from month to monthas hiring increases during winter holidays, for examplepeople often use a seasonally-adjusted rate, also published by the BLS, to better compare the data over time.

Unemployment Rate By City

  • Put simply, anyone who is not considered employed, and anyone that is not considered employed is not part of the labor force.
  • State Benefits Facts: The labor force does not include anyone younger than 16 years of age, anyone in institutions such as nursing homes, prisons, or are active duty in the Armed Forces.

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    How Can The Unemployment Rate Rise While Jobs Are Created

    On the first Monday of each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases what is referred to as the jobs report, which includes the latest unemployment rate and other figures that reveal how employment has fluctuated. Last week, the government agency unveiled April statistics, showing that the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 points to 6.1 percent as 266,000 jobs were created economy-wide.

    But if more than a quarter million jobs were brought back last month, how did the proportion of unemployed Americans rise? The perceived mismatch is explained in how the government makes its calculations.

    The U.S. unemployment rate that you see in the headlines only represents a fraction of people who dont currently have a job. The equation only takes into account people who are in the labor force, which is defined by Americans who currently have a job and those who are actively seeking one. In short, the topline unemployment rate reported by the federal government each month likely paints a rosier picture than the true labor market situation.

    The economy is rebounding from the yearlong lockdown associated with the coronavirus. But sometimes the indicators require a more nuanced analysis to truly understand whats happening. The unemployment rate is not the only number to pay attention to.

    Ball Is In The Workers’ Court

    NJ Unemployment Rate Dips, Job Losses Felt in July

    Workers returning to the labor market should have plenty of options. Nationwide, employers reported more than 10 million job openings, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the highest level on a record that dates to 2011.

    Ocean County Vocational Schools students are in high demand thanks in part to employers ranging from contractors to restaurant owners, said Gary MacDonald, curriculum director.

    With the help of a state grant, the school is bringing back a plumbing program that it had closed five years ago because of a lack of interest. Twenty students have signed up, MacDonald said.

    Still, the pandemic’s impact on work force training has yet to play out. MacDonald’s personal outreach to prospective students was sidetracked.

    “Obviously because of COVID, visitor access to our local schools was pretty limited, and we weren’t able to do our typical recruiting,” he said.

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    Nj Employment Making Sluggish Recovery In 2021

    A year and half into the pandemic, as a sense of normalcy is returning to the Garden State, New Jerseys employment numbers and unemployment rate are making an unhurried recovery.

    Employment in NJ: In March and April 2020, New Jersey lost more than 673,000 jobs because of the pandemic, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics . In April 2021, the states employment increased by 5,600 jobs and totaled nearly 4,089,200 workers, according to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. As of April 2021, the Garden State has regained just 354,000 jobs or 53% of the employment lost a year ago.

    As a result of job losses, the states unemployment rate skyrocketed in April 2020 to 16.6%, a rate never seen during our lifetime. By January 2021, New Jerseys unemployment rate experienced a decent decline and was 7.8%. However, since the start of the new year, the Garden States unemployment rate has remained stagnant, declining a measly 0.3%. As of April 2021 , New Jerseys unemployment rate was 7.5%, the seventh highest rate in the nation.

    Employment by Industry: Nearly all major industries experienced an increase in employment from April 2020 to April 2021, however, all are employing fewer workers than before the pandemic, according to the US BLS.

    Four other industries Financial Activities , Manufacturing , Construction , and Information also continue to employ fewer individuals than before the pandemic.

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