Unemployment across Hudson County has dropped to lows not seen in decades, according to the preliminary numbers released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor yesterday.
In Jersey City, the 4 percent unemployment rate is the lowest in 25 years, city officials said. They are crediting the city administration’s focus on job creation for the drop from 8.7 percent in June 2013, just before Mayor Steve Fulop took office.
The national unemployment rate is 4.7 percent, while the state stands at 4.1 percent. The Hudson County unemployment rate is 3.8 percent.
“This is validation that the policies and programs we have put into place are working and producing results,” Fulop said in a statement. “Jobs have grown steadily over the past three and half a years and while we know there is more work to be done, we are pleased that the unemployment rate continues to drop and that people are finding jobs throughout the city.”
Here are some other unemployment rates in Hudson County:
Hoboken, 2 percent
North Bergen, 4 percent
Bayonne, 4.4 percent
Kearny, 4.4. percent
Union City 4.6 percent
West New York, 3.5 percent
Jersey City officials say 7,332 net new jobs have been created and more than 650 small businesses have opened citywide, including dozens of new restaurants, since June 13.
Construction activity is also at an all-time high, officials said. Roughly 7,000 units are under construction and another 19,000 have been approved.
Project Impact has placed 80 Jersey City residents in apprenticeships with construction unions in the past two years, doubling their initial goal of 20 per year.
“Providing more Jersey City residents with access to union construction apprenticeships where they learn job skills for a lifetime is essential,” said Hudson County Freeholder Bill O’Dea, one of the founders of Project Impact. “We’ve got 20 years of construction ahead of us and plenty of opportunities and we intend to place as many Jersey City residents in those jobs as possible.”
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