After years of recession fears, it appears New Jersey may finally be experiencing an economic slowdown.
The Garden State is in a recession, according to Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi.
New Jersey and 21 other states, plus Washington, D.C., are experiencing an economic slowdown and persistent job losses, Zandi said to MarketWatch.
It’s unclear what metrics were used to decide that New Jersey was in a recession. There wasn’t anything specific about New Jersey in his comments, which pointed to national economic policy, such as President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
New Jersey 101.5 has reached out to Moody’s for comment.
Rutgers expert says it’s too soon to call it a recession
It’s not yet time to sound the alarm bells, according to Marc Pfeiffer. Pfeiffer is the associate director of the Rutgers-New Brunswick School of Planning and Public Policy.
“We may start seeing signs of a recession, but that doesn’t mean we’re in a recession. The economy is constantly flowing, changing. I don’t see us at the moment being in recession. But there clearly is potential for that,” Pfeiffer said.
He says there is a risk of a recession in the future, and whoever wins November’s governor’s race will need to keep a keen eye out for recession indicators.
The next administration may need to make immediate changes in the state budget to reduce spending if recession fears come to pass, Pfeiffer said.
As of mid-September, the number of layoffs in New Jersey tallied more than 9,700.