Business Employment Dynamics in New Jersey — Third Quarter 2025

From June 2025 to September 2025, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments in New Jersey were 212,804, while gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments were 196,150, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Lori Keller noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment loss of 16,654 jobs in the private sector during the third quarter of 2025. (See table 1.) During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 11,659. (See chart 1.)

A line chart of private-sector gross job gains and losses in New Jersey, from September 2020 to September 2025, seasonally adjusted. Accessible version is available in View Chart Data link below the chart.

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses in New Jersey, September 2020–September 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	Gross job losses	Gross job gains
Sep 2020	172,553	485,166
Dec 2020	190,103	260,650
Mar 2021	193,004	237,243
Jun 2021	189,543	237,676
Sep 2021	205,791	251,968
Dec 2021	187,108	301,740
Mar 2022	200,353	251,643
Jun 2022	222,445	233,807
Sep 2022	230,027	247,119
Dec 2022	215,906	244,694
Mar 2023	209,377	227,504
Jun 2023	218,921	237,533
Sep 2023	221,953	219,741
Dec 2023	213,926	215,275
Mar 2024	202,329	206,140
Jun 2024	204,348	217,096
Sep 2024	216,494	199,075
Dec 2024	200,880	221,965
Mar 2025	201,117	208,276
Jun 2025	203,480	215,139
Sep 2025	212,804	196,150

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment that occur at all private businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track these changes in employment at private-sector establishments from the third month of one quarter to the third month of the next. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses is the net change in employment. (See the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.)

Gross job losses

In the third quarter of 2025, gross job losses represented 5.8 percent of private-sector employment in New Jersey; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.7 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. In New Jersey, contracting establishments lost 180,627 jobs in the third quarter of 2025, an increase of 11,079 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 32,177 jobs, a decrease of 1,755 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 2. Private-sector gross job losses as a percent of employment, United States and New Jersey, September 2020–September 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	New Jersey	United States
Sep 2020	5.6	5.9
Dec 2020	5.8	5.7
Mar 2021	5.9	5.5
Jun 2021	5.7	5.9
Sep 2021	6.1	6.0
Dec 2021	5.4	5.4
Mar 2022	5.7	5.5
Jun 2022	6.2	6.2
Sep 2022	6.4	5.9
Dec 2022	6.0	5.9
Mar 2023	5.8	5.5
Jun 2023	6.0	5.9
Sep 2023	6.0	5.9
Dec 2023	5.8	5.7
Mar 2024	5.5	5.5
Jun 2024	5.5	5.9
Sep 2024	5.8	5.8
Dec 2024	5.5	5.7
Mar 2025	5.4	5.4
Jun 2025	5.5	6.0
Sep 2025	5.8	5.7

Gross job gains

In the third quarter of 2025, gross job gains represented 5.3 percent of private-sector employment in New Jersey; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.6 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 3.) Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment due to expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. In New Jersey, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 155,420 in the third quarter of 2025, a decrease of 20,650 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 40,730 jobs gained in the third quarter of 2025, an increase of 1,661 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 3. Private-sector gross job gains as a percent of employment, United States and New Jersey, September 2020–September 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	New Jersey
Sep 2020	9.4	15.7
Dec 2020	7.4	8.1
Mar 2021	7.0	7.2
Jun 2021	6.8	7.1
Sep 2021	7.3	7.5
Dec 2021	7.7	8.7
Mar 2022	6.7	7.1
Jun 2022	6.5	6.6
Sep 2022	6.9	6.9
Dec 2022	6.3	6.8
Mar 2023	6.3	6.3
Jun 2023	6.2	6.4
Sep 2023	5.9	6.0
Dec 2023	6.0	5.9
Mar 2024	5.9	5.5
Jun 2024	5.8	5.9
Sep 2024	5.8	5.4
Dec 2024	5.9	6.0
Mar 2025	5.6	5.6
Jun 2025	5.7	5.8
Sep 2025	5.6	5.3

Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 8 of the 11 published industry sectors in New Jersey in the third quarter of 2025. Leisure and hospitality had the largest over-the-quarter net job decrease, with a loss of 9,444 jobs. This was the result of 41,037 gross job losses and 31,593 gross job gains. The professional and business services industry had a net loss of 8,472 jobs. Transportation and warehousing showed a net gain of 3,209 jobs, the largest gain of any sector in the state. New Jersey’s education and health services industry sector had a net gain of 2,949 jobs.

For more information

The BED data series include gross job gains and gross job losses by industry subsector, for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size class. BED data for the states have been included in table 2 of this release. Additional information is available online at the Business Employment Dynamics homepage and the Business Employment Dynamics Summary.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Fourth Quarter 2025 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of a federal-state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). The BED data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records.

More information on formal definitions of the data used in this release, along with coverage, concepts, and methodology, can be found in the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Table 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses by industry, New Jersey, seasonally adjusted
Category	Gross job gains and losses (3 months ended)					Gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
Category	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025	June 2025	Sept. 2025	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025	June 2025	Sept. 2025
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	199,075	221,965	208,276	215,139	196,150	5.4	6.0	5.6	5.8	5.3
At expanding establishments	160,037	178,194	173,994	176,070	155,420	4.3	4.8	4.7	4.7	4.2
At opening establishments	39,038	43,771	34,282	39,069	40,730	1.1	1.2	0.9	1.1	1.1
Gross job losses	216,494	200,880	201,117	203,480	212,804	5.8	5.5	5.4	5.5	5.8
At contracting establishments	178,231	161,010	167,422	169,548	180,627	4.8	4.4	4.5	4.6	4.9
At closing establishments	38,263	39,870	33,695	33,932	32,177	1.0	1.1	0.9	0.9	0.9
Net employment change (2)	-17,419	21,085	7,159	11,659	-16,654	-0.4	0.5	0.2	0.3	-0.5
Construction
Gross job gains	12,302	12,731	15,838	12,624	12,243	7.6	7.9	9.5	7.6	7.5
At expanding establishments	10,225	10,849	13,627	10,816	10,761	6.3	6.7	8.2	6.5	6.6
At opening establishments	2,077	1,882	2,211	1,808	1,482	1.3	1.2	1.3	1.1	0.9
Gross job losses	13,922	13,430	11,974	14,640	12,865	8.6	8.2	7.2	8.8	7.9
At contracting establishments	11,042	10,984	9,967	12,319	10,981	6.8	6.7	6.0	7.4	6.7
At closing establishments	2,880	2,446	2,007	2,321	1,884	1.8	1.5	1.2	1.4	1.2
Net employment change (2)	-1,620	-699	3,864	-2,016	-622	-1.0	-0.3	2.3	-1.2	-0.4
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	7,698	8,016	7,576	8,113	6,641	3.0	3.1	3.0	3.3	2.7
At expanding establishments	6,845	6,934	6,573	7,188	5,937	2.7	2.7	2.6	2.9	2.4
At opening establishments	853	1,082	1,003	925	704	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.3
Gross job losses	9,059	7,769	8,310	8,425	9,013	3.5	3.0	3.3	3.4	3.6
At contracting establishments	7,929	6,681	7,221	7,482	8,146	3.1	2.6	2.9	3.0	3.3
At closing establishments	1,130	1,088	1,089	943	867	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.3
Net employment change (2)	-1,361	247	-734	-312	-2,372	-0.5	0.1	-0.3	-0.1	-0.9
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	7,723	7,514	7,692	7,992	7,423	3.6	3.5	3.6	3.8	3.5
At expanding establishments	6,710	6,155	6,625	7,119	6,378	3.1	2.9	3.1	3.4	3.0
At opening establishments	1,013	1,359	1,067	873	1,045	0.5	0.6	0.5	0.4	0.5
Gross job losses	8,566	8,239	7,839	8,392	8,113	4.0	3.9	3.7	4.0	3.8
At contracting establishments	7,028	6,968	6,433	6,918	6,992	3.3	3.3	3.0	3.3	3.3
At closing establishments	1,538	1,271	1,406	1,474	1,121	0.7	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.5
Net employment change (2)	-843	-725	-147	-400	-690	-0.4	-0.4	-0.1	-0.2	-0.3
Retail trade
Gross job gains	21,570	19,816	24,328	23,450	21,616	5.0	4.7	5.6	5.5	5.1
At expanding establishments	18,374	17,021	21,564	20,114	17,915	4.3	4.0	5.0	4.7	4.2
At opening establishments	3,196	2,795	2,764	3,336	3,701	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.8	0.9
Gross job losses	24,574	23,857	19,872	26,163	23,882	5.7	5.6	4.6	6.1	5.5
At contracting establishments	21,416	20,727	17,154	22,003	21,175	5.0	4.9	4.0	5.1	4.9
At closing establishments	3,158	3,130	2,718	4,160	2,707	0.7	0.7	0.6	1.0	0.6
Net employment change (2)	-3,004	-4,041	4,456	-2,713	-2,266	-0.7	-0.9	1.0	-0.6	-0.4
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	10,127	18,256	8,456	9,023	14,530	4.3	7.7	3.6	3.9	6.2
At expanding establishments	9,154	17,174	7,577	8,181	13,824	3.9	7.2	3.2	3.5	5.9
At opening establishments	973	1,082	879	842	706	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.3
Gross job losses	11,500	9,678	16,280	11,554	11,321	5.0	4.1	6.9	5.0	4.9
At contracting establishments	10,159	7,975	15,333	10,733	10,221	4.4	3.4	6.5	4.6	4.4
At closing establishments	1,341	1,703	947	821	1,100	0.6	0.7	0.4	0.4	0.5
Net employment change (2)	-1,373	8,578	-7,824	-2,531	3,209	-0.7	3.6	-3.3	-1.1	1.3
Information
Gross job gains	3,835	2,575	2,866	4,329	4,232	5.0	3.4	3.9	5.7	5.6
At expanding establishments	3,204	2,130	2,303	3,704	3,267	4.2	2.8	3.1	4.9	4.3
At opening establishments	631	445	563	625	965	0.8	0.6	0.8	0.8	1.3
Gross job losses	3,360	4,474	3,786	3,156	3,680	4.4	5.9	5.0	4.2	4.8
At contracting establishments	2,804	3,419	3,076	2,615	3,057	3.7	4.5	4.1	3.5	4.0
At closing establishments	556	1,055	710	541	623	0.7	1.4	0.9	0.7	0.8
Net employment change (2)	475	-1,899	-920	1,173	552	0.6	-2.5	-1.1	1.5	0.8
Financial activities
Gross job gains	11,442	9,894	9,016	11,033	9,261	4.5	3.9	3.5	4.3	3.7
At expanding establishments	9,383	8,083	7,905	9,435	7,725	3.7	3.2	3.1	3.7	3.1
At opening establishments	2,059	1,811	1,111	1,598	1,536	0.8	0.7	0.4	0.6	0.6
Gross job losses	12,006	9,799	9,178	10,344	10,497	4.7	3.9	3.6	4.1	4.2
At contracting establishments	9,622	7,073	7,561	8,405	8,706	3.8	2.8	3.0	3.3	3.5
At closing establishments	2,384	2,726	1,617	1,939	1,791	0.9	1.1	0.6	0.8	0.7
Net employment change (2)	-564	95	-162	689	-1,236	-0.2	0.0	-0.1	0.2	-0.5
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	38,346	46,112	43,006	43,433	38,486	5.4	6.5	6.0	6.1	5.4
At expanding establishments	31,749	39,099	37,005	36,689	30,495	4.5	5.5	5.2	5.2	4.3
At opening establishments	6,597	7,013	6,001	6,744	7,991	0.9	1.0	0.8	0.9	1.1
Gross job losses	46,469	43,230	42,492	41,402	46,958	6.6	6.1	6.0	5.8	6.6
At contracting establishments	37,610	35,306	34,789	33,951	38,861	5.3	5.0	4.9	4.8	5.5
At closing establishments	8,859	7,924	7,703	7,451	8,097	1.3	1.1	1.1	1.0	1.1
Net employment change (2)	-8,123	2,882	514	2,031	-8,472	-1.2	0.4	0.0	0.3	-1.2
Education and health services
Gross job gains	32,855	39,284	33,970	31,826	30,360	4.4	5.2	4.5	4.1	3.9
At expanding establishments	29,059	28,730	31,229	27,646	26,597	3.9	3.8	4.1	3.6	3.4
At opening establishments	3,796	10,554	2,741	4,180	3,763	0.5	1.4	0.4	0.5	0.5
Gross job losses	25,478	30,755	24,326	27,300	27,411	3.4	4.0	3.1	3.6	3.5
At contracting establishments	21,620	23,554	21,119	23,771	23,631	2.9	3.1	2.7	3.1	3.0
At closing establishments	3,858	7,201	3,207	3,529	3,780	0.5	0.9	0.4	0.5	0.5
Net employment change (2)	7,377	8,529	9,644	4,526	2,949	1.0	1.2	1.4	0.5	0.4
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	34,269	38,239	34,261	41,402	31,593	8.5	9.4	8.3	10.1	7.8
At expanding establishments	24,265	30,480	26,686	32,686	21,398	6.0	7.5	6.5	8.0	5.3
At opening establishments	10,004	7,759	7,575	8,716	10,195	2.5	1.9	1.8	2.1	2.5
Gross job losses	42,911	34,078	40,856	36,662	41,037	10.6	8.4	10.0	9.0	10.1
At contracting establishments	36,471	28,096	33,927	30,320	36,399	9.0	6.9	8.3	7.4	9.0
At closing establishments	6,440	5,982	6,929	6,342	4,638	1.6	1.5	1.7	1.6	1.1
Net employment change (2)	-8,642	4,161	-6,595	4,740	-9,444	-2.1	1.0	-1.7	1.1	-2.3
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	9,159	9,686	9,846	10,557	9,018	6.6	7.0	7.1	7.6	6.5
At expanding establishments	7,084	7,444	7,900	7,760	6,836	5.1	5.4	5.7	5.6	4.9
At opening establishments	2,075	2,242	1,946	2,797	2,182	1.5	1.6	1.4	2.0	1.6
Gross job losses	11,016	9,152	8,863	9,229	11,126	8.0	6.6	6.4	6.7	8.1
At contracting establishments	7,879	6,808	6,754	7,321	8,235	5.7	4.9	4.9	5.3	6.0
At closing establishments	3,137	2,344	2,109	1,908	2,891	2.3	1.7	1.5	1.4	2.1
Net employment change (2)	-1,857	534	983	1,328	-2,108	-1.4	0.4	0.7	0.9	-1.6
Footnotes: (1) Includes unclassified sector not shown separately. (2) The net employment change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses. (3) Except public administration.

Table 2. Private-sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted
Category	Gross job gains as a percent of employment (3 months ended)					Gross job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
Category	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025	June 2025	Sept. 2025	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025	June 2025	Sept. 2025
United States(1)	5.8	5.9	5.6	5.7	5.6	5.8	5.7	5.4	6.0	5.7
Alabama	5.8	5.8	5.3	5.5	5.4	5.9	5.3	5.6	5.6	5.5
Alaska	8.0	10.3	10.0	9.9	7.5	9.6	9.5	8.1	10.3	10.0
Arizona	6.4	6.1	5.8	5.3	5.8	5.7	5.9	5.3	6.3	5.5
Arkansas	5.5	5.8	5.1	5.1	5.3	5.2	4.8	5.1	5.5	5.3
California	6.3	6.7	6.0	6.6	6.2	6.2	6.4	6.2	6.7	6.0
Colorado	6.3	6.2	6.2	6.4	6.5	6.4	6.5	6.8	7.1	6.5
Connecticut	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.8	5.3	5.6	5.5	5.3	5.8	5.9
Delaware	6.8	6.1	5.9	5.9	5.3	6.4	6.3	5.3	6.1	6.1
District of Columbia	4.9	5.0	4.8	5.7	4.6	5.0	5.5	5.8	5.9	5.9
Florida	6.5	6.0	5.8	5.7	5.9	5.7	6.2	5.5	5.8	6.0
Georgia	5.8	6.0	5.5	5.5	5.7	6.1	5.4	5.7	5.6	5.8
Hawaii	5.7	5.3	4.9	4.8	5.1	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.2	4.8
Idaho	7.1	8.2	7.3	7.7	6.7	7.5	6.8	7.3	7.2	7.6
Illinois	4.9	5.1	5.0	5.2	4.7	5.0	5.1	5.0	5.2	5.0
Indiana	5.3	5.5	5.4	5.0	5.1	5.3	5.1	5.2	5.6	5.1
Iowa	5.3	5.6	5.8	5.6	4.8	6.0	5.6	5.5	5.8	5.9
Kansas	5.3	5.9	5.5	5.4	5.8	5.6	5.2	5.4	6.3	5.8
Kentucky	5.4	5.3	5.2	5.0	5.3	5.4	5.5	4.8	5.4	5.6
Louisiana	6.1	6.2	5.6	5.5	5.9	5.8	5.5	5.6	6.3	6.0
Maine	6.2	7.0	7.4	7.2	6.2	7.1	7.1	6.3	7.4	7.0
Maryland	5.9	6.0	5.9	5.7	5.7	6.1	5.9	5.7	6.2	6.5
Massachusetts	5.0	5.3	5.0	5.5	5.3	5.8	5.5	5.1	5.8	5.9
Michigan	5.3	5.4	5.2	5.8	4.9	5.8	5.9	5.3	5.5	5.9
Minnesota	5.1	5.5	5.1	5.8	5.3	5.8	5.1	5.5	5.5	5.6
Mississippi	6.3	6.3	5.7	6.3	6.4	5.7	6.2	6.1	6.5	6.1
Missouri	5.6	5.7	5.4	5.5	5.6	5.8	5.3	5.2	6.1	5.9
Montana	7.2	8.4	8.0	7.7	7.0	8.0	7.8	7.5	8.3	7.9
Nebraska	5.6	5.6	5.2	5.4	5.5	5.6	5.5	5.3	5.5	5.8
Nevada	6.2	6.1	5.4	6.2	6.9	5.9	5.6	5.9	6.3	5.2
New Hampshire	5.6	6.3	6.5	6.3	5.6	6.7	5.9	6.1	6.7	6.8
New Jersey	5.4	6.0	5.6	5.8	5.3	5.8	5.5	5.4	5.5	5.8
New Mexico	6.3	6.1	5.9	5.9	5.8	6.2	5.9	5.8	6.0	6.2
New York	5.7	5.7	6.6	5.9	5.9	5.8	5.5	5.0	7.0	5.8
North Carolina	5.5	6.1	5.4	5.6	5.4	5.8	5.5	5.5	5.4	5.7
North Dakota	6.5	6.5	6.7	6.4	6.2	6.5	6.6	6.5	6.7	6.6
Ohio	5.2	5.4	5.2	5.3	5.1	5.4	5.1	4.9	5.4	5.3
Oklahoma	6.1	6.0	5.5	5.5	6.0	5.5	5.5	5.3	6.2	6.4
Oregon	6.3	6.2	5.8	6.4	5.7	6.6	6.6	6.2	6.5	6.7
Pennsylvania	5.1	5.2	5.0	4.9	5.0	5.0	4.8	4.7	5.2	5.2
Rhode Island	6.2	7.3	6.6	6.3	6.0	6.4	6.3	5.9	6.7	6.7
South Carolina	6.2	6.4	6.1	5.8	6.3	5.9	5.9	5.5	6.6	6.5
South Dakota	5.9	6.7	6.2	6.0	5.9	5.9	5.9	6.5	6.1	6.0
Tennessee	5.6	5.5	5.4	5.1	5.7	5.7	6.2	5.1	5.9	5.2
Texas	5.7	5.8	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.1	5.4	5.3
Utah	6.8	6.8	6.6	6.6	6.7	6.2	6.3	6.0	6.6	6.4
Vermont	6.6	6.7	6.9	6.9	6.6	7.1	6.7	6.8	7.5	7.8
Virginia	5.8	5.8	5.6	5.8	5.9	5.7	5.5	5.1	5.8	6.1
Washington	5.8	5.8	5.7	6.0	5.2	5.8	5.7	5.5	5.4	5.6
West Virginia	5.9	6.5	6.4	5.5	5.8	6.6	6.1	5.7	6.3	6.0
Wisconsin	5.1	5.3	5.0	5.3	4.9	5.5	5.2	4.9	5.5	5.6
Wyoming	8.9	8.9	8.1	8.3	7.7	8.5	8.3	8.7	8.9	8.4
Puerto Rico	5.4	4.3	6.3	7.0	5.4	5.0	5.4	5.4	6.1	5.7
Virgin Islands	4.7	5.2	5.4	15.0	7.1	7.5	10.8	7.6	9.5	8.4
Footnotes (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Last Modified Date: Friday, May 15, 2026

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