Northern Region Employment Inches UpwardTotal nonfarm employment in the Northern Region (Bergen-Hudson-Passaic [BHP]

and Newark labor areas) reached a non seasonally adjusted level of 2,147,700 in De-cember 2016, up by 10,800 jobs or 0.5 percent from the same month a year ago. In comparison, jobholding statewide increased at a faster pace (+1.2%). Educational and health services (+4,600 or +1.4%) added the most jobs in the region on the strength of employment expansion in the health care and social assistance industry (+3,800 or +1.3%). Job growth also occurred in trade, transportation and utilities (+4,500 or +1.0%), financial activities (+3,400 or +2.3%), construction (+1,200 or +1.6%), govern-ment (+300 or +0.1%) and information (+200 or +0.5%). Jobholding in manufacturing (-2,000 or -1.9%), leisure and hospitality (-400 or -0.2%) and other services (-400 or -0.4%) were down over the year. Employment in professional and business services was flat over the year.

At the statewide level, the job growth leaders were educational and health services (+19,700 or +2.9%) and trade, transportation and utilities (+14,800 or +1.7%). Profes-sional and business services (+11,400 or +1.7%), financial activities (+3,400 or +1.4%), leisure and hospitality (+2,700 or +0.8%), and construction (+200 or +0.1%) also added jobs during the period. Jobholding contracted in government (-1,500 or -0.2%), informa-tion (-1,500 or -2.0%), other services (-500 or -0.3%) and manufacturing (-500 or -0.2%) since December 2015.

Regional Job Growth Concentrated in BHP Labor AreaIn December 2016, nonfarm employment in the Bergen-Hudson-Passaic Labor Area

(BHP) totaled 938,600 and accounted for 43.8 percent of the region's jobs; however, the labor area's gain of 12,600 jobs (+1.4%) since December 2015 accounted for all

of the jobs created in the re-gion over the year. Nonfarm employment in the Newark Labor Area was 1,205,100 in December 2016, down by 1,800 jobs or 0.1 percent over the year.

The private sector job growth leaders in BHP were educational and health ser-vices (+3,300 or +2.1%), fi-nancial activities (+3,400 or +4.9%), leisure and hospitality (+2,400 or +3.3%) and profes-sional and business services (+1,900 or +1.3%). TTU was up by just 1,000 jobs or 0.5 percent. Gains in retail trade (+1,500 or +1.3%) and trans-portation, warehousing and

Regional Focus: North Jersey Issue #19N

Data through Dec 2016

Regional Focus is a quarterly publication of the New Jersey Department of Labor Division Workforce Research and Analyt-ics. For questions regarding the material in this publication contact Brandon Schoonover at (609)292-7281 or email brandon.schoonover@dol.nj.gov

To subscribe to this publication email njsdc@dol.state.nj.us with “regional focus” in the subject line.

Data and analysis for the Bergen-Hudson-Passaic and Newark labor areas(Bergen, Hudson, Passaic, Essex, Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Sussex and Union counties)

Change in Nonfarm Employment December 2015 - December 2016

(not seasonally adjusted)Region StateNet % Net %

Total Nonfarm Employment 10,800 0.5 47,900 1.2Private Sector 10,500 0.6 49,400 1.4 Construction 1,200 1.6 200 0.1 Manufacturing -2,600 -1.9 -500 -0.2 Trade, Trans. & Utilities 4,500 1.0 14,800 1.7 Information 200 0.5 -1,500 -2.0 Financial Activities 3,400 2.3 3,400 1.4 Prof. & Business Svcs. 0 0.0 11,100 1.7 Ed. & Health Svcs. 4,600 1.4 19,700 2.9 Leisure & Hospitality -400 -0.2 2,700 0.8 Other Services -400 -0.4 -500 -0.3Government 300 0.1 -1500 -0.2Source: NJLWD, Current Employment Statistics

Scan with your smart phone to access the Office of Research and Information online:

Source: NJLWD, Current Employment Statistics

-1.0%

-0.5%

0.0%

0.5%

1.0%

1.5%

2.0%

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Dec 2015 - Dec 2016 Total Employment ChangeNew Jersey and Northern Region

(not seasonally adjusted)

NJ Northern Region

Total Nonfarm Employment (unadjusted December data, employment in thousands)2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

New Jersey 3,905.6 3,952.3 3,991.9 4,039.5 4,093.3 4,141.2Northern Region 2,056.9 2,070.9 2,089.3 2,111.8 2,130.9 2,141.7

Bergen-Hudson-Passaic Labor Area (Bergen, Hudson and Passaic counties) 885.8 891.6 902.7 915.6 926.0 938.6

Newark Labor Area (Essex, Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Sussex and Union counties) 1,171.1 1,179.3 1,186.6 1,196.2 1,204.9 1,203.1Source: NJLWD, Current Employment Statistics

More detailed data from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program can be found at: http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/lpa/employ/ces/ces_index.html

-4.0 -2.0 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0

Total NonfarmConstruction

ManufacturingTrade,Transportation & Utilities

InformationFinancial Activities

Professional & Buisness SvcsEducational & Health Svcs

Leisure & HospitalityOther Services

Government

Percent

Employment Change by Industry, Dec 2015 - Dec 2016Bergen-Hudson-Passaic Labor Area

(not seasonally adjusted)

-4.0 -2.0 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0

Total NonfarmConstruction

ManufacturingTrade,Transportation & Utilities

InformationFinancial Activities

Professional & Buisness SvcsEducational & Health Svcs

Leisure & HospitalityOther Services

Government

Percent

Employment Change by Industry, Dec 2015 - Dec 2016Newark Labor Area (not seasonally adjusted)

Source: NJLWD, Current Employment Statistics

utilities (+1,800 or +4.2%) were hampered by a reduction in wholesale trade (-2,300 or -3.8%). Manufacturing (-800 or -1.3%), other services (-400 or -1.1%) and construction (-100 or -0.3%) shed employment from the same month a year ago.

In the Newark Labor Area, employment was down due to staffing reductions in lei-sure and hospitality (-2,800 or -2.9%), pro-fessional and business services (-1,900 or -0.9%), manufacturing (-1,800 or -2.4%), and government (-800 or -0.5%). On a bright note, gains in TTU (+3,500 or +1.4%), con-struction (+1,300 or +2.9%), and educational and health services (+700 or +0.4%) helped balance the area’s employment losses. Fi-nancial activities, information and other ser-vices experienced no change since Decem-ber 2015.

LABOR FORCE DATA

More detailed data from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program can be found at:http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/lpa/employ/uirate/lfest_index.html

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

5.5

6.0

Dec-15 Jan-16 Feb-16 Mar-16 Apr-16 May-16 Jun-16 Jul-16 Aug-16 Sep-16 Oct-16 Nov-16 Dec-16

Unemployment Rates, New Jersey and Northern RegionDecember 2015 - December 2016 (not seasonally adjusted)

NJ Region B-H-P Newark

Source: NJLWD, Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS)

CLAIMANTS BY OCCUPATIONAL GROUPNumber Percent

Management 6,233 8.5Business and financial 2,975 4.0Professional and related 9,667 13.1Services 12,590 17.1Sales and related 5,373 7.3Office and administrative support 10,502 14.2Farming, fishing and forestry 229 0.3Construction and extraction 6,867 9.3Installation, maintenance and repair 2,576 3.5Production 6,976 9.5Transportation and material moving 9,503 12.9Military 215 0.3

CHARACTERISTICS OF NEW JERSEY’S INSURED UNEMPLOYED

NORTHERN REGION, FOURTH QUARTER 2016 Under 257.9%

25-3423.7%

35-4420.7%

45-5422.6%

55-6418.5%

65+5.6%

N/A1

1.0%

By Age

Less Than High School

17.4%

High School Graduate

39.4%

Some College Incl.

Associates Degree21.5%

Bachelors Degree and

More21.7%

By Educational Level

1N/A: No information provided by claimantSource: NJLWD, Characteristics of UI Claimants

• During the fourth quarter of 2016, there were 73,724 resi-dents claiming unemployment insurance benefits in the Northern Region. This represented 45.7 percent of claim-ants statewide. Regional claims activity was down by 6,349 or 7.9 percent from the same quarter a year ago.

• In December 2016, the not-seasonally ad-justed unemployment rate for the Northern Region was 3.9 percent, down slightly from December 2015 when the regional rate stood at 4.1 percent. In comparison, the statewide unadjusted unemployment rate for December 2016 was 4.1 percent.

• In the Newark Labor Area the unemployment rate during December 2016 was 4.0 percent, down from the December 2015 rate of 4.2 percent. In the area, unemployment rates ranged from a high of 4.9 percent in Essex County to a low of 3.0 percent in Hunterdon County. The Bergen-Hudson-Passaic Labor Area’s December 2016 unadjusted rate of 3.9 was little changed over the year (December 2015, 4.0%). By county, the area’s unemployment rates for December 2016 were: Passaic County, 4.9 percent; Hudson County, 3.8 percent; and Bergen County, 3.4 percent.

REGIONAL JOB OUTLOOKOCTOBER 2016 - DECEMBER 2016

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development through its agreement with Burning Glass Technolo-gies is able to provide the following labor market information aggregated from online employer job listings during the quarter. This data provides valuable insight regarding current employer demand for characteristics such as skills and educational requirements. Note that this data is not meant to represent all available employment opportunities but rather should be viewed in terms of analysis of labor market demand.

JOB LISTINGS BY COUNTYCounty ListingsBergen 16,140Morris 14,379Hudson 14,374Essex 13,618Somerset 11,269Union 8,178Passaic 6,810Hunterdon 1,632Sussex 1,208Warren 1,124

Graduate or professional degree

16.0%

Associate's degree9.4%

High school or vocational training

23.1%

Bachelor's degree51.5%

Job Listings by Educational Requirement

OCCUPATIONS WITH THE MOST LISTINGSOccupation ListingsHeavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers 4,413Software Developers, Applications 3,448Sales Reps, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products

3,407

Registered Nurses 3,355Retail Salespersons 2,764Customer Service Representatives 2,006Managers, All Other 1,918First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers 1,621Management Analysts 1,297Marketing Managers 1,283Sales Managers 1,124Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand 1,070Accountants 1,053Medical and Health Services Managers 1,044Human Resources Specialists 1,039

During the fourth quarter of 2016, Northern Region employers in the professional, scientific and technical servic-es, chemical manufacturing, credit intermediation and related activities, truck transportation, and ambulatory health care services industries exhibited the most labor demand based on online job listing activity.

Concentrated in Bergen, Morris, Hudson, and Essex counties, employers indicated that they were most inter-ested in filling positions for tractor-trailer drivers, software developers, wholesale sales representatives, registered nurses, retail salespersons, and managers. Skills that were actively sought by regional employers included cus-tomer service, project management, sales, budgeting, scheduling, and proficiency in Microsoft Office programs.

TOP SKILLS IN DEMANDSkill ListingsMicrosoft Excel 11,281 Customer Service 10,875 Project Management 8,474 Sales 8,287 Microsoft Office 8,267 Budgeting 7,243 Scheduling 7,078 Microsoft Powerpoint 5,365 Customer Contact 4,981 Microsoft Word 4,252 Supervisory Skills 4,034 SQL 3,934 Retail Setting 3,786 Accounting 3,751 Repair 3,402

Source: Burning Glass Technologies, Labor InsightPrepared by: New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Bureau of Labor Market Information

INDUSTRIES WITH THE MOST JOB LISTINGSIndustry ListingsProfessional, Scientific, and Technical Services 5,880Chemical Manufacturing 3,655Credit Intermediation and Related Activities 3,331Truck Transportation 3,319Ambulatory Health Care Services 3,101Administrative and Support Services 2,882Food Services and Drinking Places 2,764Hospitals 2,628Insurance Carriers and Related Activities 2,314Educational Services 1,846Securities, Commodity Contracts, & Other Financial Investments and Related Activities

1,726

General Merchandise Stores 1,404Telecommunications 989Health and Personal Care Stores 894Publishing Industries (except Internet) 887

EMPLOYERS WITH SIGNIFICANT ONLINE JOB LISTING ACTIVITY

Employer ListingsJP Morgan Chase Company 875 Verizon Communications Incorporated 747 Accenture 681 Oracle 632 United Parcel Service Incorporated 597 The Home Depot Incorporated 559 Saint Barnabas Health Care System 540 Island Transportation Corporation 465 CVS Caremark 464 Macy's 417 Bayada Home Health Care 406 Automatic Data Processing Incorporated 394 Compass Group 393 Actavis 387 Prudential 376

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