This week on EJB Talks Assistant Professor Zoe Lindenfeld talks to Dean Stuart Shapiro about her research on substance use disorders, particularly the opioid crisis, and its ties to healthcare access and policy. She explains how her interest in the field was sparked by the opioid epidemic’s emergence as a public health crisis.
Topic
Will Irving
Navigating New Jersey’s Economic Outlook
In our first episode of EJB Talks for 2025, Stuart Shapiro and Will Irving discuss Will’s current role with the Rutgers Economic Advisory Service (R/ECON) as well as the latest economic forecast for New Jersey, which predicts a sharper economic slowdown compared to the national trend.
Will the Nation’s Employment Growth Trajectory Follow NJ’s?
In late July, the outlook for the U.S. economy appeared strong, with some observers suggesting that the Fed had indeed nailed the long-awaited soft-landing even in light of recent cooling in the labor market. Just a week later, however, markets panicked, albeit briefly, as the national jobs report for July showed monthly payroll employment growth slowing to 114,000 jobs, well short of the projected 175,000 job gain.
New Income Distribution Data from the U.S. BEA
Based on the BEA data for 2022, New Jersey’s median personal income ranked 4th in the nation at $137,252, about 23% higher than the national median.
How does New Jersey benefit from tax incentives given to film, TV and AI industries?
“It’s simply because AI is such a hot topic right now, such a hot term, I’m not sure how this would necessarily differ from any of the targeted industries they already identify, which are mostly high-tech industries,” Irving said.
NJSPL – Industry Employment Growth in NJ
Since the end of December, total job growth has been relatively strong in the state, though data revisions have continued to blur the picture.
NJSPL – NJ Progress with Offshore Wind Projects
Offshore wind has the potential to contribute to the state’s decarbonization goals while generating approximately 20,000 new jobs for the state by 2030, but exactly how these economic benefits will be distributed remains to be seen
NJSPL – New Jersey’s 2025 Tax Revenue Projections
Adjusted appropriations for FY 2024 are nearly $1 billion higher than in the original budget, while FY 2024 revenues are projected to be about $500 million lower. As a result, the current projection would see the budget surplus drop from $10.7 billion at the outset of FY 2024 to $6.1 billion at the end of FY 2025.
NJSPL – Marc Pfeiffer On Fixing the Open Public Records Act
OPRA, the state’s Open Public Records Act is showing its age. Now 22 years old, this important public policy suffers, in part, from age, neglect, unintended consequences, and unexpected use cases. Efforts to repair OPRA must recognize that the law affects all levels of New Jersey government, not just municipal.
NJSPL – New Jersey Employment Concerns Revisited
As 2024 began with yet another surprisingly strong jobs report for the U.S., and with a full year’s worth of 2023 state-level employment data now available, it’s worth briefly revisiting some of the trends discussed in our early December post on New Jersey’s employment situation.