New Jersey’s unemployment rate remained at 4.6% in February, where it has been for nine months, while total nonfarm jobs increased by 19,200 jobs for the month, according to federal data released by state labor officials on Thursday.
New Jersey’s preliminary job numbers for January were revised downward in the latest report, resulting in a total loss of 11,000 jobs instead of 6,100 for that month, the state Department of Labor & Workforce Development said. The 19,200 nonfarm jobs added in February included 12,600 public sector jobs and 6,600 private sector jobs.
In February, five of nine private industries recorded employment gains compared to January including education and health services (+3,900); trade, transportation, and utilities (+2,500); professional and business services (+1,200); construction (+300); and manufacturing (+200).
Sectors that recorded job losses in February include financial activities (-1,200), information (-100), leisure and hospitality (-100), and other services (-100).
Between February 2024 and February 2025, the state added 45,800 jobs with 82% of those positions in the private sector, the DOL said. Total nonfarm employment in February was at a seasonally adjusted level of 4,402,000.
The state’s labor force participation rate, which captures the percentage of the working-age population that is employed or actively seeking a job, stood at a seasonally adjusted 63.9% in February, compared to 64% in January and 64.4% a year ago in February 2024.
The state’s unemployment rate has held at 4.6% since June of 2024 and is slightly higher than it was a year ago in February of 2024 (4.4%).
New Jersey’s 4.6% February unemployment rate exceeds the 4.1% national unemployment rate for the same month.
