New Jersey’s economy trailed all but nine other U.S. states in growth for the first quarter of 2021.
“New Jersey grew at a slower rate than the nation: 5.6% vs. 6.4%, and ranked 41st overall in the U.S. However, this was after growing at a faster rate than the nation in 3 of the prior 4 quarters,” explained Dr. Charles Steindel, former Chief Economist of the New Jersey Treasury in an analysis for GSI. “There’s no “smoking gun” among our industries accounting for any noticeable part of our Q1 lag. In our region, New Jersey lagged all states, with the exception of Delaware, which also grew at a 5.6% rate.”
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New York outpaced New Jersey at 22nd with a slightly better than average 6.6% growth rate.
The country added 559,000 job in May 2021 but employers continued to suffer with a job market that’s short on qualified applicants. New Jersey added 36,000 and remains far behind its pre-COVID jobs level.
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