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New Jersey jobs and job market: layoffs, colleges and workforce help

New Jersey’s unemployment rate is 4.2%. 7,119 open professional jobs are listed here. Employers filed 125 layoff notices in the last 12 months. Choose a county or city for the same picture closer to home.

Independent page. Not from or affiliated with the State of New Jersey.

Looking for work in New Jersey? See where you stand.

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New Jersey economy

  • 4.2%

    unemployment, Sep 2026

    5.5% the month before

  • 4,928,382

    in the labor force

    Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

  • 9,267,014

    people in New Jersey

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau

  • $101,050

    median household income

    Source: Census ACS

  • 47%

    of workers in white-collar occupations

    Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

New Jersey outlook: Steady

Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.

  • Private-sector jobs up 2.8% from 2022 to 2025
  • Population up 3.0% from 2020 to 2025
  • Unemployment 4.1%, down 1.6 points from a year ago
  • Sectors adding the most jobs: health care (+88,369 jobs), hotels & food (+20,539 jobs)
  • Sectors losing the most jobs: admin & staffing (−16,058 jobs), transportation & warehousing (−7,359 jobs)

Local job-market news

Recent headlines about layoffs, AI and jobs in New Jersey. Each link goes to the publisher.

Learn and get funded in New Jersey

New Jersey layoffs

  • 125

    Layoff notices, last 12 months

  • 15,205

    workers named

    A floor: states may leave out counts

  • 91

    employers

Layoff notices filed in New Jersey, newest first
Notice dateEmployerCity or countyWorkersTypeSource
The Children's PlaceTakes effect Feb 4, 2027The Children's Place732—State record
JP Morgan ChaseTakes effect Oct 30, 2026Jersey City91—State record
Dr. Praeger's Sensible Foods LLCTakes effect Dec 30, 2026Elmwood Park168—State record
Acme Markets Inc.Takes effect Jan 2, 2027Hillsdale122—State record
ComcastTakes effect Jan 27, 2027Comcast119—State record
Conduent State & Local Solutions, IncTakes effect Jan 21, 2027Newark113—State record
FRC Balance LLC, DBA The Food KitchenTakes effect Jan 3, 2027Hackensack89—State record
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking CorporationTakes effect Oct 1, 2026Jersey City75—State record
Sumitomo Mitsui BankingTakes effect Oct 1, 2026Jersey City74—State record
Atlantic City Linen Supply LLCTakes effect Jan 3, 2027Atlantic City67—State record

All layoff notices in the state

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Employers hiring most in New Jersey

Employers with the most open professional roles on our job board right now.

  1. Amazon99 open roles
  2. DTCC98 open roles
  3. Sanofi-aventis Patient Assistance Foundation82 open roles
  4. Hackensack Meridian Health77 open roles
  5. L3HARRIS Technologies66 open roles
  6. Confidential52 open roles
  7. BAE Systems49 open roles
  8. Colgate Palmolive48 open roles
  9. Johnson & Johnson44 open roles
  10. Provident Bank44 open roles
  11. Clark Davis Associates43 open roles
  12. Atlantic Health System42 open roles

Largest employers headquartered in New Jersey

Employee counts with a year are published figures (Wikidata). Other sizes are estimates from our company directory, not payroll counts.

Higher education in New Jersey

  • 54

    public and private non-profit colleges

    Source: IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education

  • about 398,500

    students enrolled

    Estimated from size bands

Largest colleges in New Jersey

Largest colleges in New Jersey
CollegeCityTypeStudents
Montclair State UniversityMontclairPublic 4-year20,000+
Rowan UniversityGlassboroPublic 4-year20,000+
Rutgers University-New BrunswickNew BrunswickPublic 4-year20,000+
Kean UniversityUnionPublic 4-year10,000–19,999
New Jersey Institute of TechnologyNewarkPublic 4-year10,000–19,999
Rutgers University-NewarkNewarkPublic 4-year10,000–19,999
Beth Medrash GovohaLakewoodPrivate non-profit 4-year5,000–9,999
Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan CampusTeaneckPrivate non-profit 4-year5,000–9,999
New Jersey City UniversityJersey CityPublic 4-year5,000–9,999
Princeton UniversityPrincetonPrivate non-profit 4-year5,000–9,999
Ramapo College of New JerseyMahwahPublic 4-year5,000–9,999
Rutgers University-CamdenCamdenPublic 4-year5,000–9,999

All 54 New Jersey colleges

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving New Jersey. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

Laid off in New Jersey? How to file for unemployment in New Jersey (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).

26 American Job Centers in New Jersey

Job fairs and business events in New Jersey

Hiring events, career workshops, small-business counseling and startup events from chambers, job centers, workforce boards, colleges and economic-development groups in New Jersey.

Conferences in New Jersey

Industry conferences and trade shows held in New Jersey, the ones worth a trip for hiring managers and job seekers. 13 with dates announced.

All conferences

New Jersey counties

Each county page has its own unemployment, layoffs, job openings, employers, colleges and job centers.

Show all 21

New Jersey cities

Cities with open jobs, layoff notices, a job center or a college.

Show all 219

Laid off or looking for work in New Jersey?

See what to do first, what New Jersey unemployment benefits pay, and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS for population, income and unemployment; layoff notices from New Jersey’s published record; job counts from our live job board, taken from employers’ own career sites; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. New Jersey unemployment benefits and severance rules.

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