NJ unemployment rate hits 17-year low
As of the month of October, New Jersey's unemployment rate fell to 4.1 percent from 4.2 percent the previous month.
State Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo says it is positive and historic news.
"Jersey's jobless rate has not been this low in 17 years. Seven of the nine major industry sectors in the past month grew jobs, led by construction, trade and utilities, professional business services, followed by leisure and hospitality and manufacturing," he said.
"But there is still significant work to be done for millions of hardworking New Jerseyans who struggle to make ends meet every day. Because as we know in the Murphy administration, getting a job is just the first step. We need to make sure that they have family-sustaining wages, benefits and security, and hopefully a career path. That is what we are working on every day at the Department of Labor."
Asaro-Angelo says the current hiring climate in Jersey finds many businesses with openings that are going unfilled.
"Every employer that you talk to right now, their biggest challenge is finding workers when the economy is this, when the job market is so tight," he said.
"Our goal at the Department of Labor and Workforce Development is to put systems in place that will provide training for folks, to get them into jobs where employers need them, and also show employers how they can train from within through our Customized Grant Training Programs and other services."
Since February 2010, the low point of the recession, the long, slow climb back in the state has added more than 400,000 jobs.
Joe Cutter is the afternoon news anchor on New Jersey 101.5