TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey’s unemployment rate, driven up by the economic fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak, fell by more than 4 percentage points to 6.7% in September, state officials said Thursday.
The Labor Department attributed the decline to workers leaving the job market and not to job gains.
New Jersey has regained about 467,000 jobs that were lost because of the outbreak, or about 56%.
About 60,000 jobs were added in September, according to the department, mostly in the private sector. The leisure and hospitality industries had the biggest growth, followed by the trades, transportation and utilities. The information sector in New Jersey saw a decline of 100 jobs for the month.
Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy reported Thursday that the number of COVID-19 cases climbed by about 1,000 overnight, to about 217,000 overall. There were six additional deaths overnight, he said, putting the toll at 14,408.
There have been 22 outbreaks traced back to 83 individuals in schools across the state, he said. There has been at least one confirmed outbreak in 12 of the state’s 21 counties.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms. Older adults and people with existing health problems are at higher risk of more severe illness or death.
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