“I would not be surprised to see other states start to experience rapid increases as employment growth nationally continues to slow and/or decline,” Irving said in an email.
Topic
layoffs
North Jersey inflation rose 3.4% in 2025. How it compares to nation
“Things are definitely cooling,” said Will Irving, a professor at the New Jersey State Policy Lab at Rutgers University.
“A lot of tariff uncertainty likely contributed to slow hiring in 2025 even as the lower-than-originally-announced tariff levels took less of a bite out of economic growth than many expected,” he said.
NJ unemployment rate hits 4-year high amid cooling job market
“Things are definitely cooling,” said Will Irving, a professor at the New Jersey State Policy Lab at Rutgers University.
“A lot of tariff uncertainty likely contributed to slow hiring in 2025 even as the lower-than-originally-announced tariff levels took less of a bite out of economic growth than many expected,” he said.
Stagnating national jobs market raises economic concerns
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.
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.”