Irving said he’ll be tracking jobs numbers closely in coming months. New Jersey’s unemployment rate is 5.2% — that’s higher than the national rate — and Irving noted the state has in recent years been a bellwether for what is coming to the rest of America.
Topic
layoffs
Could layoffs in NJ preview a recession for 2026?
“Things have been tepid for quite a while,” he said, “but this notion that we may be coming toward a recession? We’re looking at sort of middle of next year — at least a recession as you might want to define it at the state level, where we start to see significant job declines.” said Will Irving.
JPMorgan Chase plans fourth round of NJ layoffs in 2025
James Hughes, an economist at Rutgers University, previously told NorthJersey.com that white-collar jobs in banking and finance have become saturated after a two-year hiring spree that followed the COVID-19 pandemic.
NJ saw double the layoffs in first quarter vs last year, even before tariff fears
“We may see the same thing in 2025” because of the impact of Trump’s tariffs, he said. “It almost seems like we’re in another panic.”
Banking giant Barclays cutting 78 jobs in Whippany after earlier layoffs
James Hughes, an economist at Rutgers University, told NorthJersey.com that white-collar jobs in banking and finance have become saturated after a two-year hiring spree that followed the COVID-19 pandemic.
100 companies announced 13,300 layoffs in NJ in 2024. Here’s how to file for unemployment
“The Great Resignation has yielded to the Great Stay,” Hughes said in an interview. “It could definitely be shrinking … which suggests this is really a correction.”
What would you do to try and avoid a layoff?
Families striving to move up the economic ladder may also be at risk, he said. “People may have made investments that, if they lose their job, they may lose their car, they may lose their house.”
Banking, finance sector layoffs hit NJ, include Prudential and JPMorgan Chase
Today in NorthJersey.com, Bloustein School University Professor and Dean Emeritus James Hughes says white-collar jobs in banking and finance have become saturated after a two-year hiring spree that followed the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why some of the state's...
Economic Doubts and Downturn?
Although a solid 263,000 jobs were created nationwide in November within the context of a 3.7% unemployment rate, the US and New Jersey economies are nonetheless facing headwinds: Inflation remains high and the federal reserve’s attempts to control it by raising...
Twin crises: The economic impact of COVID-19 and Americans’ outlook for the future
Americans are experiencing dire financial and emotional trauma from the pandemic-driven recession and worry that these negative realities will linger for many years.