Sometimes I wonder about the wisdom of building an economy on gambling, but then, similarly, who could have predicted a thriving business in expensive coffee a la Starbucks? Latte or lotto, I guess they are both addictions in their own ways. These days, the gamble on gambling seems even less advised as New Jersey's employment in the hospitality and leisure category sector fell by 5,900 in March, outstripping business services and manufacturing. These numbers come from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Overall, 17,200 jobs were lost in Jersey in March, bringing the unemployment rate up to 8.3 percent -- still below March's national unemployment rate of 8.5 percent.
Two more interesting numbers: I always watch the category that, oddly, combines administrative support and waste remediation (I wonder if this means that secretaries are doing waste remediation when they cover for their bosses -- probably yes!). Anyway, I digress. This category includes temporary workers. As long as this category continues to fall, it means that the job market is not coming around. When the economy starts to come around, employers will begin to hire temp workers, because they are too nervous to commit to a full time relationship. (Ladies, do we know guys like that?) So, that category grew by 3,000 from February to March. That is an optimistic sign, despite a year-over-year decline of 29,000 jobs.
Second interesting number: Construction hiring is up by 500, even seasonally adjusted. That is also good news. Naturally, construction hiring is going to be up in warmer weather -- that's the seasonally adjusted part taken into account by the statisticians. This is new hiring budding up. Again, it's still down by 18,100 year over year, but we'll take whatever little harbingers of spring we can find.
Every day for 60 days, Inquirer staff writer Jane M. Von Bergen profiled someone from the ranks of the region’s unemployed.
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Cold winter for the jobless
- Ranks of long-term jobless are growing.
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How a printing plant failed
- Big gambles and bad decisions, oil prices and credit crises, even a New Zealand tycoon: All played a role in Downingtown.
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