New Jersey posted its 10th straight month of employment gains in October with most of the job gains concentrated in the private sector.
New Jersey’s Department of Labor & Workforce Development said that nonfarm wage and salary employment in the Garden State increased by 20,000 in October. The state labor department’s Nov. 18 press release cited preliminary estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The news on job gains came two days after New Jersey’s Department of the Treasury announced strong revenue collections for the month of October. Treasury said October revenue collections for the major taxes totaled $2.8 billion, up $269.3 million, or 10.8% above October 2020.
Year-to-date, Treasury said the state has collected $10.1 billion, up $2.0 billion or 25% above the same four months for 2020.
Employment Gains
October’s job gains in New Jersey were concentrated in the private sector, which added 22,000 jobs. Public sector employment decreased by 2,000 where job loss was concentrated at the local level, the Department of Labor & Workforce Development said.
Eight out of nine major private industry sectors added jobs in October. Sectors that recorded employment increases included professional and business services (+8,900); trade, transportation, and utilities (+4,000); leisure and hospitality (+3,200); construction (+2,700); other services (+1,100); manufacturing (+1,000); financial activities (+1,000); and education and health services (+300).
The information sector, which lost 300 jobs, was the sole district to record an employment loss over the month.
Moreover, the state revised September estimates to reflect a month-over-month increase of 26,300 jobs, up from the estimated 21,500 jobs added.
New Jersey’s unemployment rate was 7.0% for the month of October and the state now has recovered 512,900 jobs, or roughly 72% of the number lost in March and April 2000 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Breakdown of Tax Revenue Gains, Losses
In most major tax categories, revenue collections were up for the month of October, Treasury said. Gross Income Tax collections—which are dedicated to the Property Tax Relief Fund—totaled $1.2 billion, up $192.2 million, or 19.8%, above last October. Year-to-date Gross Income Tax collections of $4.2 billion are up $874.8 million, or 26.1%.
Sales and Use Tax collections for October were $1.2 billion, an increase of $155.6 million, or 14.9%, over last October. Year-to-date Sales and Use Tax collections are up 11.6% from the same time last year “as consumer behavior continues to exceed even pre-pandemic levels.” Treasury said that due to the one-month lag in Sales Tax collections, October revenue collections reflect consumer activity in September.
Corporate Business Tax collections were at $141.7 million for October, a $37.2 million decrease, or 20.8%. “October collections are typically among the smaller CBT months each year,” Treasury said. Year-to-date, Corporate Business Tax collections of $1.377 billion are up $413.6 billion, or 43.0% above the same period last year.
Treasury said that “the encouraging overall revenue trends” were partially offset by “sizeable new refund claims” under the Pass-Through Business Alternative Income Tax. PTBAIT collections dropped in absolute terms by a net $98.3 million in October “following more than $120 million in refund claims due to overpayments made during Fiscal Year 2021.
“A sizable number of refunds are still expected in the coming months as taxpayers get a better handle on their payments under this new program,” Treasury said.
Gaming Revenue Up in October
New Jersey’s total gaming revenue for October 2021 increased 32.7% from total gaming revenue in October 2020, New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement said Nov. 17.
Total gaming revenue for the month was $448.7 million—a figure that includes revenue reported by casinos, racetracks, and their partners. In October 2020, the state brought in $338.1 million in total gaming revenue.
For the year to date, total gaming revenue reported by casinos, racetracks and their partners was $3.9 billion, compared to $2.3 billion—an increase of 70.8% from a year ago.
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