New Jerseyans have been waiting for a long time. While the U.S. had regained all of the nearly 9 million jobs that it lost in the recession by March 2014, New Jersey’s job market muddled along. At times, it seemed like it would gain momentum. But in October 2012, superstorm Sandy struck, crippling the following summer’s economic activity at the Shore. Then, in 2014, the casino industry laid off thousands of workers in the face of competition in neighboring states, said Rutgers University economist James W. Hughes.
But New Jersey turned the corner in 2015, adding private-sector jobs at a faster pace than the nation, Hughes said.
The trouble? Jobs alone aren’t enough. Many workers have seen their wages freeze and are paying more for their own health care through high-deductible insurance plans. And they aren’t getting ahead, said Carl Van Horn, director of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers.