TRENTON, N.J. – The economic cost of Phil Murphy’s ongoing COVID-19 lockdown was hammered home on Thursday when the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its latest unemployment estimates.
New Jersey’s unemployment rate rose 1.2-points in June to 16.6%, America’s 2nd highest unemployment rate after Massachusetts (17.4%) but ahead of New York (15.7%).
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Governor Phil Murphy paused his arbitrary process of reopening the state’s still-shuttered businesses and programs back on July 6th, citing an alleged increase in COVID-19 trasmission rates and positive case numbers from other states.
A manmade disaster? It increasingly looks that way.
The N.J. Department of Labor and Worforce Development reported an additional 38,150 unemployment claims filed last week; that’s the second highest weekly total since early May.
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