January 16, 2008 - 6:11pm
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Greenwald Welcomes Positive Economic News

GREENWALD WELCOMES POSITIVE STATE ECONOMIC NEWS

(TRENTON) - Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Louis D. Greenwald today welcomed the release of new state employment data that shows New Jersey ended 2007 with the most jobs in its history.

However, Greenwald said the best news was the source of the new jobs - nearly all of them - were produced in the private sector.

"With the dark clouds of a recession looming over the national economy, it is a breath of fresh air to see a brightened jobs picture here in New Jersey," said Greenwald (D-Camden).

According to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, employment in New Jersey has risen to 4,114,900 - the most in state history.  The preliminary state average unemployment rate for 2007 was 4.3 percent - a decrease of from the 4.6 percent average of 2006.

Greenwald also noted that the state's month-to-month unemployment rate continues to rank below the national unemployment figure, half a percentage point lower.

"While the news is positive, it is clear that the chill of a national recession could pose new challenges for this budget year," said Greenwald.   "It's not enough to keep ahead of the national unemployment figure.  We need to keep putting downward pressure on state spending while advancing policies that continue to promote new jobs and economic opportunities in this state.  In this kind of economic environment, our state's competitive edge can never be sharp enough."

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DROSEMAN can be reached via email at droseman@njleg.org.
Related topics: Lou Greenwald, unemployment