The unemployment rate declined to 4.4%, but revised and preliminary payroll figures point to a weakening job market.
TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey employers shed an estimated 25,600 jobs in July, while the state’s unemployment rate declined from 4.5% to 4.4%, according to a preliminary employment report released Thursday.
Total seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment fell to 4,357,600 jobs, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development reported.
The largest estimated monthly losses were in professional and business services, down 13,400 jobs, and leisure and hospitality, down 7,300. Private education and health services lost 2,700 jobs; construction lost 1,300; other services lost 1,100; and financial activities lost 900.
Trade, transportation and utilities added 600 jobs. Manufacturing and information each added 100, while public-sector employment increased by 300.
The state cautioned that the July payroll decline may be overstated. Seasonal adjustment calculations may not have adequately accounted for typical summer declines in professional and business services, and the monthly employer survey received fewer responses than expected.
The figures are preliminary and subject to revision. That limitation mattered in the previous month: New Jersey’s initially reported June loss of 300 jobs was revised to a decline of 4,200.
Over the past year, the state lost an estimated 19,600 nonfarm jobs, including 20,000 in the private sector. Education and health services was the principal area of growth, adding 26,400 jobs from July 2025 to July 2026.
Year-over-year losses included 12,800 jobs in leisure and hospitality, 8,000 in trade, transportation and utilities, 7,000 in professional and business services, 4,900 in construction and 4,100 in information.
The falling unemployment rate does not necessarily conflict with the payroll decline. The two measurements come from different federal surveys. The unemployment rate is based on a household survey, while the payroll estimate comes from employers.
A lower unemployment rate can also result when people leave the labor force and are no longer counted as actively looking for work. The state’s release did not provide county-level figures or a detailed explanation for the July change in unemployment.
Revised July estimates and preliminary August figures are scheduled for release on Sept. 17.