Today’s employment report by the NJ Department of Labor (DOL) shows that employment in New Jersey’s private-sector economy grew by a modest 35,400 jobs over the last year, a 1 percent increase. This performance once again leaves New Jersey trailing the nation, the New Jersey Business & Industry Association said today.

New Jersey’s private-sector employers added 2,600 jobs in December and an upwardly revised 5,800 jobs in November. This addition of new jobs over the last two months allowed New Jersey to end the year on an up note. However, the DOL report revealed little evidence that New Jersey has emerged from a see-saw pattern of weak and inconsistent job growth that has plagued it over the last two years.

For two years in a row, New Jersey has done poorly compared to the rest of the nation. In 2004, New Jersey added 31,300 private sector jobs, making it 41st in the nation in its rate of private-sector job creation.

The addition of 35,400 private sector jobs in 2005 is only marginally better, and it still leaves New Jersey lagging the nation. In the nation as a whole, private-sector employers added 1.8 million jobs in 2005, an increase of 1.7 percent.

“For two years in a row, New Jersey has trailed the nation in its rate of private-sector employment growth,” said NJBIA President Philip Kirschner. “The see-saw pattern of weak job growth that has plagued this expansion is evidence of sluggish economic recovery.”

“Governor Jon Corzine has said economic growth will be his top priority. We agree with this priority,” Kirschner said. “We are eager to work with the Corzine administration to strengthen the State’s economic growth programs and to lower some of the barriers to business expansion, like the high cost of doing business, that are holding us back.”

In today’s employment report, the DOL also noted that New Jersey’s unemployment rate rose to 4.7 percent in December, up from 4.6 percent in November and a low for the year of 3.9 percent in September. The US unemployment rate fell slightly from 5.0 percent in November to 4.9 in December and has stayed in a range of 4.9 to 5.1 percent since March.

With more than 23,000 member companies, NJBIA is the nation’s largest state-level employer association. NJBIA tracks private-sector employment growth in New Jersey, providing regular commentary on this and other economic trends. For more information or to interview NJBIA President Philip Kirschner, call Chris Biddle at 609-393-7707, ext. 227.