New Jersey Added 3,700 Jobs in February; Jobless Rate Declines

New Jersey added 3,700 jobs in February and the unemployment rate declined by 0.1 percentage point to 9.8 percent, a five-month low. This is the second straight month the unemployment rate declined in New Jersey.

The state’s labor department reports total non-farm payroll rose to 3,853,400 with all the new jobs coming in the private sector. The financial activities industry had the largest gains with 1,800 new positions created last month. It was followed by professional and business services, which increased by 1,500 jobs, and health and education services, where employment was increased by 1,200.

Sectors with the biggest declines were manufacturing, which lost 1,000 jobs; and the other services industry, including repair and maintenance, which lost 800 positions.

The national unemployment rate last month was 9.7 percent.