NJ has regained nearly 90% of jobs lost to pandemic, and pay is rising too
New Jersey employers added 25,900 jobs in February, the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development reported Thursday, continuing the job market's rapid recovery from the early days of the pandemic.
The job growth helped the unemployment rate drop to 4.6% from 5.1% in January. Part of that decline was due to fewer people actively looking for work.
But employers that once offered minimum wage now are offering upwards of $17 an hour, a sign that job hunters continue to have the upper hand.
The figures came from the U.S. Labor Department's monthly unemployment report, which surveys employers to measure the number of jobs and households to measure the unemployment rate.
The report was a sign that Garden State employers shrugged off the highly contagious omicron variant and continued to hire briskly. But they now are contending with new hurdles. Namely, inflation is at a 40-year high.
Higher wages: Six Flags Great Adventure offers ride operators up to $20 an hour as job recruiting boils
New Jersey's job market was hit twice as hard as the U.S. in total during the pandemic, and it has been slower to recover.
The layoffs left some New Jersey workers unable to reach unemployment officials to resolve claims. State Sen. Kristin Corrado, R-Passaic, whose office tried to work with contituents to get answers, earlier this week called on Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo to resign.
The Labor Department Thursday said it has fielded 3.5 million calls since June 2020 and delivered more than $37 billion in benefits.
The department said its 12 one-stop career centers will reopen March 28 for unemployed workers with unresolved claims. Officials have begun to schedule appointments for people they think will be most likely helped by an in-person meeting.
Walk-ins won't be served, the department said, adding that the most efficient way to get questions answered remains online or the telephone.
February's jobs report was the strongest since last July and showed that New Jersey is making up ground.
Through February, New Jersey recovered 89.9% of the jobs it lost in March and April of 2020, while the U.S. recovered 90.4%, according to Rutgers University economist James W. Hughes.
Job growth in February was spread across most sectors. Trade, transportation and utilities added 9,000 jobs; leisure and hospitality added 5,200 jobs; and education and health services added 4,300 jobs.
Financial activities was flat, and the public sector lost 300 jobs.
The recovery has left some sectors faring better than others. Trade, transportation and utilities, a sector that includes New Jersey's hot warehouse industry, has more than made up for the jobs it lost in March and April 2020, according to the February report.
Leisure and hospitality remains 4.5% below its pre-pandemic peak. It's not for a lack of trying. In Brick alone, Five Guys is offering up to $17.50 an hour for crew members, while Houlihan's is advertising a signing bonus of $250 for servers, hosts and hostesses and bussers.
Michael L. Diamond is a business reporter who has been writing about the New Jersey economy and health care industry for more than 20 years. He can be reached at mdiamond@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ employment: Nearly all COVID-lost jobs regained, inflation a threat
