New Jersey Leads Nation in Job Losses

Hey Chris Christie, where are all those jobs that you promised when you cut taxes for millionaires???? N.J. unemployment claims rise most in the nation In New Jersey, a hiring trend is proving particularly elusive. The state, whose figures trail national data by a week, saw a 52 percent increase in weekly jobless claims for the week ending April 23, to 16,165, according to figures released... [more]

Hey Chris Christie, where are all those jobs that you promised when you cut taxes for millionaires???? N.J. unemployment claims rise most in the nation In New Jersey, a hiring trend is proving particularly elusive. The state, whose figures trail national data by a week, saw a 52 percent increase in weekly jobless claims for the week ending April 23, to 16,165, according to figures released yesterday. That is not a small number, considering 165,000 claimants have already exhausted their benefits since the recession began in December 2007. To qualify for a new round of benefits, individuals must return to work for at least 20 weeks, the state Labor Department said. The Garden State’s increase in new claims — the biggest among all states — was mostly attributable to layoffs in the transportation, warehousing, trade, service and public administration industries, officials said. The state also cited Easter holiday school closings, because employees such as crossing guards, cafeteria workers and bus drivers can also file for temporary benefits. But economists said while mid-April spikes are typical, the number was larger than expected and underscores the inconsistency of the state’s recovery. New Jersey lost jobs in December and January while adding jobs in February and March. By contrast, the nation has added jobs for 13 consecutive months. "New Jersey is fickle, inconsistent, erratic — much more so than at the national level," said Patrick O’Keefe, an economist with accounting firm J.H. Cohn in Roseland. "We’re still in a stutter-step mode, where it’s a couple steps forward and a couple steps back." http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2011/05/jobs_report_nj_unemployment_cl.html [less]