Counties with the highest unemployment in New Jersey

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October 4, 2024
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Counties with the highest unemployment in New Jersey

Unemployment rates have continued to rise across U.S. metropolitan areas, provoking alarm throughout the nation and guiding the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates last month.

As of August, unemployment rates had increased from the previous year in 315 out of 389 U.S. metros areas—including 45 of the 51 largest metros, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

To get a glimpse of regional variations in employment, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in New Jersey, using BLS data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in August 2024, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.

The national unemployment rate remains relatively low at 4.1% in September, down slightly from the previous month. Still, it's up substantially from 3.8% during the same month last year and remains higher than it had otherwise been since December 2021. By comparison, unemployment rates surged to 10% in October 2009 during the Great Recession, and a full recovery took years. At the height of the brief COVID-19 recession in April 2020, unemployment hit 14.7%.

The Federal Reserve has shifted its focus from curbing inflation to unemployment, cutting interest rates to alleviate economic strain and spur job growth.

Since last year, unemployment has spiked in half of states—a signal often indicating a looming recession, as Piper Sandler Chief Global Economist Nancy Lazar told Business Insider. These jobless rates, paired with layoffs among major U.S. employers like Google and Tesla, have sparked concern among Americans. Minus a major economic blow, economists continue to forecast that the U.S. is tracking toward an incremental slowdown in growth known as a "soft landing." The Fed plans to continue cutting rates to achieve this.

To get a better idea of your community's current economy, read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in New Jersey.

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#21. Hunterdon County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 70,002 people (2,871 unemployed)

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Mihai_Andritoiu // Shutterstock

#20. Morris County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 275,837 people (12,326 unemployed)

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Andrew F. Kazmierski // Shutterstock

#19. Monmouth County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 356,597 people (16,222 unemployed)

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#18. Somerset County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 184,313 people (8,725 unemployed)

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#17. Bergen County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 516,284 people (24,777 unemployed)

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#16. Cape May County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 57,964 people (2,830 unemployed)

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#15. Warren County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 61,222 people (3,023 unemployed)

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#14. Mercer County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 221,559 people (10,759 unemployed)

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#13. Burlington County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 256,669 people (12,669 unemployed)

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#12. Ocean County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 305,471 people (14,951 unemployed)

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#11. Sussex County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.0%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 79,822 people (4,027 unemployed)

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#10. Middlesex County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 475,789 people (24,627 unemployed)

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#9. Gloucester County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 166,892 people (8,779 unemployed)

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#8. Hudson County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.4%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 387,418 people (21,064 unemployed)

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#7. Union County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.8%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 298,287 people (17,277 unemployed)

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#6. Camden County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 280,737 people (16,454 unemployed)

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#5. Salem County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.8%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 32,207 people (2,174 unemployed)

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#4. Atlantic County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.8%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 127,266 people (8,695 unemployed)

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#3. Passaic County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.8%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 261,008 people (17,760 unemployed)

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#2. Essex County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.9%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 402,552 people (27,903 unemployed)

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#1. Cumberland County

- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 70,391 people (5,419 unemployed)

This story features data reporting and writing by Paxtyn Merten and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.

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