From the Record:
6,200 positions lost; cold snap blamed
New Jersey lost 6,200 jobs in February, more than wiping out the January employment surge, state officials said Wednesday, as colder weather than normal hurt the construction and hospitality industries.
That means New Jersey has shed 900 jobs in 2007, the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development said in its monthly employment report.
Yet there was good news, as the state unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage point to 4.1 percent. That’s the lowest level since May 2001, and 0.4 percentage point lower than the national level.
It’s not unusual for the state’s employment and unemployment figures to move in opposite directions because they are estimated using different methods. Employment figures are based on a survey of employers’ hiring and workforce reduction. Unemployment is based on a household survey.
The February figures contrast sharply with those for January, when the state added 5,300 jobs — a strong spurt that impressed economists after a year of modest job growth.
“The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away,” said James Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
From the AP:
N.J. rethinks its business incentives
New Jersey gave, and MSNBC took — then ran away.
Now MSNBC’s move out of New Jersey is causing Garden State officials to reconsider the incentives given to businesses to keep them in the state.
Ideas include forcing companies to refund money and tax breaks if they don’t uphold deals to create jobs and stay in the state.
State Sen. Shirley Turner said the state’s business incentive program needs to ensure companies fulfill agreements.
“If we keep giving without getting back, our investment strategy will become another bad joke about New Jersey,” said Turner, D-Mercer.
MSNBC in October announced it was closing its Secaucus facility after 10 years and moving studios to Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center. New Jersey had given it about $7.8 million in grants to come and stay at least 15 years.
The company was one of the first to participate in New Jersey’s Business Employment Incentive Program designed to help businesses either expand or relocate to New Jersey to create jobs.
as colder weather than normal hurt the construction …industry[y].
Yea, uh, it was the weather.
That means New Jersey has shed 900 jobs in 2007 …yet…the state unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage point to 4.1 percent. That’s the lowest level since May 2001
This happened earlier this year as well. They used the same excuse; statistical anomaly. I have to wonder how much internal migration patterns play into this. As people leave the state, total employment goes down, but unemployment doesn’t go up.
The internal migration statistics show that many of the people leaving are working age.
New Jersey gave, and MSNBC took — then ran away.
I think incentives for businesses do make sense under the right circumstances. Shame on NJ for not having a contract with MSNBC that stipulated penalties (return of benefits) for pulling out early.
Fortunately public sector jobs: teachers,cops, municipal workers, have increased.
I guess unless you are in a NJ union you are SCREWED.
But there is a bright side, teachers can retire @55 and cops 50, so there will be more openings on the NJ gravy train.
HELP, JIM
Gee, I wonder if someone in NJ government finally read the Tax Foundation papers on state competitiveness, and how incentives are also indicators of just how noncompetitive the tax regime of a state is?
phuck this state. i shut down my biz and left in 2002. they still tried to tax me for 2003 on a closed corp.
nj is all scum. the place is done. stick a fork in it.
I sold my business and moved South because of
the Liberal Tax and spend union centric policies of the last 5 yrs.Many if not most
high earners are leaving. It sounds good to
soak the succesful but in time it just backfires. When everybody in NJ is a state
employee who will pay the tax to pay them.
You have a mass migration going on and sooner
or later you will realize it. I won’t come back for any reason EVER!
The NJ unemployment rate does not reflect the actual rate because they don’t use claims.They rely on a survey.
In the summer of 1991 NJ claimed low unemployment then went right into a recession. People lost jobs while businesses had hiring freezes yet they claimed the job market was good!
Check the NJ Warn Notices which shows a jobs decline.
MSNBC in October announced it was closing its Secaucus facility after 10 years and moving studios to Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center. New Jersey had given it about $7.8 million in grants to come and stay at least 15 years.
I”m a bit dumbfounded by this.
In any other scenario this would be a contract, would it not? Shouldn’t this be a no brainer? MSNBC either stays the 15 years that it agreed to or they are in breach of contract. Unless NJ agreed to keep the “agreement” non-binding—why would you do that?