NJ’s Jobless Rate Unchanged in November

Holiday hiring helped drive a gain of 10,400 private sector jobs as New Jersey's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.1 percent in November.

The state Labor Department says preliminary estimates indicate total nonfarm wage and salary employment grew to 3,881,000.

The trade, transportation and utilities sector led the growth in five of the ten industry sectors that saw gains in November, with an increase of 9,900 jobs. Most of that reflects a gain of 7,800 in the retail trade component as merchants increased staff for the holiday shopping season.

Officials also revised October's employment numbers up by 2,000 jobs.

Treasury Department chief economist Charles Steindel says November's brisk pace of hiring shows employers anticipate increased consumer spending.