Even as New Jersey added jobs in August, the state’s labor market is showing cracks.

According to data released Sept. 18 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employers added 4,900 positions, lifting total nonfarm employment to 4,389,200. However, the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.0%, the highest rate in more than three years.

The August rate was well above the national average of 4.3% and the highest since January 2022. Then, joblessness hit 5.2% amid the Omicron wave of COVID-19, the most widespread and infectious surge of the pandemic.

That contrast captures the state of the labor market in late summer 2025. Jobs are being created in some of the state’s strongest industries. However, the number of residents reporting themselves as unemployed is rising, labor force participation

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