United States Employment Snapshot
In May, among the 50 states and the District of Columbia unemployment fell in 13, rose in 17, and remained unchanged in 21.
The highest unemployment rate was 5.3 percent in District of Columbia, and the lowest was 2 percent in North Dakota and South Dakota. Nationally, the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage point to 4 percent.
In May, payroll jobs rose in 42 states and fell in 9. The largest payroll job percent increase was 0.9 percent in Idaho. The largest payroll job percent decline was 0.3 percent in Minnesota.
New Jersey Employment Snapshot
In May, New Jersey added 16,500 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 4.6 percent. In the prior month, New Jersey lost 8,100 net payroll jobs.
Over the past 12 months, New Jersey added 80,200 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percentage points from 4.2 percent.
Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 272,000 in May, or 0.2 percent. New Jersey is tied for 14th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.
In May, New Jersey’s private sector added 14,700 net private payroll jobs, and over the past 12 months it added 69,000 private payroll jobs. In the prior month, New Jersey lost 9,700 net private payroll jobs.
In May, employment in New Jersey fell by 802, and over the past 12 months it fell by 35,008.
New Jersey’s labor force participation rate fell to 64.5 percent in May from 64.6 percent and ranks 20th in the nation. In the past 12 months, the labor force participation rate has fallen by 0.6 percentage points.
New Jersey Payroll Employment
New Jersey added 16,500 net payroll jobs, or 0.4 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during May. In the prior month, New Jersey lost 8,100 jobs. New Jersey nonfarm payroll employment has increased in 9 of the past 12 months.
Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 272,000 in May, or 0.2 percent. New Jersey is tied for 14th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.
New Jersey added 14,700 private sector jobs, or 0.4 percent. on a seasonally adjusted basis during May. In the prior month, New Jersey lost 9,700 jobs. New Jersey private sector payroll employment has increased in 9 of the past 12 months.
Nationally, private sector payroll jobs rose by 229,000 jobs in May, or 0.2 percent. New Jersey ranks 13th in the nation for percentage gain in private sector payroll employment over the past 12 months.
The best performing sectors on a seasonally adjusted basis during May were Leisure and Hospitality (7,200) and Education and Health Services (2,900).
The poorest performing sectors during the month were Information (-200) and Construction (-400).
The best performing sectors during the last 12 months were Education and Health Services (40,000) and Government (11,200).
The poorest performing sectors during the last 12 months were Manufacturing (-1,300) and Information (-2,900).
New Jersey Labor Force
The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the civilian noninstitutionalized population age 16 and older who are employed or actively looking for work.
The labor force participation rate in New Jersey fell to 64.5 percent in May from 64.6 percent in the prior month.
New Jersey ranks 20th in the nation.
The 10-year high for the labor force participation rate in New Jersey was 65.1 percent occurring in June 2023, and the 10-year low was 60.6 percent in April 2020.
The national labor force participation rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 62.5 percent in May.