1,600 Layoffs Coming In NJ Despite COVID-19 Job Recovery

NEW JERSEY — New Jersey has recovered more than 50 percent of the jobs lost since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, even as the number of new layoff notices filed in March increased by about 300 from February to March, according to the New Jersey Department of Labor.

More than 1,600 layoffs are now planned in New Jersey over the next three months, according to the state Department of Labor (see list below).

The number of new unemployment claims are also dropping, according to the most recent numbers provided by the Department of Labor.

The number of New Jersey residents employed increased by 20,800 to reach a seasonally adjusted level of 3,897,300, according to preliminary estimates released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on April 17. Most of those jobs (800) were private-sector jobs, officials said.

New Jersey has now recovered 384,900 jobs, or about 54 percent of the number lost in March and April 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and measures taken in response to it, officials said. The state’s unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percent in March, to 7.7 percent.

New Jersey ranked first in the nation for quickest unemployment recovery in a recent study conducted by WalletHub.

It had an 11.25 percent decrease compared to the same week in 2019, the biggest in the country, according to the study. It also had the biggest decrease in weekly unemployment claims compared to the beginning of last year (37.82 percent).

New Jersey's drop of 93.20 percent in weekly unemployment claims compared to the same week last year was the country's sixth largest decrease.

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For the week ending April 10, New Jersey also reported 130,000 fewer new unemployment claims from the previous week, as there were a total of 11,344 new unemployment claims filed, a 43 percent decline from the prior week.

This is compared to 141,420 reported for the same week last year. In all, there have been 2,114,755 initial unemployment claims since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.

“While the number of people filing new claims for unemployment has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, the numbers are thankfully much lower than what we were witnessing a year ago,” Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo said. “That’s great news for some residents, but the financial hardship of not having a job is still a reality for too many of our friends, neighbors and family. We must continue to work together to make sure every resident has the opportunity to return to work, and experience the dignity that a steady job provides.”

Here is a look at the number of new unemployment claims received by the department each week:

Eight of the nine major private sectors recorded increases in employment in March, including:

• 5,700 more jobs in leisure and hospitality;
• 4,200 more jobs in education and health services;
• 3,800 more construction jobs;
• 3,300 more jobs in trade, transportation, and utilities;
• 2,100 more manufacturing jobs;
• 800 more “information” jobs;
• 400 more jobs in the financial industry; and
• 200 more jobs in business services.

Jobs classified as “other services” saw a loss of 500 jobs in March.

Last week, the Department of Labor said the state has extended unemployment claims for 246,000 people automatically in the last five weeks. Without the automation, that process could have taken up to three months, officials said.

The automated review determines whether workers can continue to collect benefits on their existing claim and, when a new claim is required because of their earnings over the past year, automatically files it for them.

“One year ago this week, we saw a 2,700 percent increase in weekly unemployment applications from the same week in 2019,” Asaro-Angelo said. “New Jersey is the only state to address this issue head-on with automation to allow up to one million claimants reaching the end of their benefit year to continue receiving benefits without delay.”

The American Rescue Plan signed March 11 extends Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) – the $300 supplement – to eligible claimants for 25 weeks, through Sept. 4.

Here is the list of layoff notices that are planned and their scheduled dates:

• Berry Global, Phillipsburg, April 22: 150
• Hain Celestial Group, Inc., Moonachie, April 24: 143
• Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., April 30: 73
• Manufacturers & Trust Company, May 8: 149
• GEODIS, Mantua, May 18: 363
• Apex Xpress, Inc., Secaucus: May 31: 49
• International Vitamin Corp., Irvington, June 1: 110
• Saddle Brook Marriot, June 30: 67
• Mondelez Global LLC, Fair Lawn, July 9: 593