New Jersey payrolls edged down in June as professional services, health care and construction added jobs
New Jersey’s seasonally adjusted payroll employment declined by 300 jobs in June, reaching 4,387,100 jobs, according to a July 16 release from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
The small statewide decline came despite job gains in professional and business services, private education and health services, construction, manufacturing and other services. The gains in those industries were offset by losses in other parts of the labor market, though the department’s release did not provide the full sector-by-sector list of June losses in the information available for this report.
The figures are preliminary employment estimates, meaning they may be revised. The report provides a monthly snapshot of payroll employment rather than a final accounting of the state’s June labor market.
Service-sector gains led the additions
Professional and business services recorded the largest increase among the sectors identified in the release, adding 3,700 jobs in June. Private education and health services followed with a gain of 3,600 jobs.
Construction added 500 jobs. Manufacturing also added 500 jobs, as did other services.
Those sector gains did not translate into a statewide payroll increase for the month. Overall employment was down 300 jobs after losses elsewhere offset the reported additions.
That distinction matters for employers, job seekers and policymakers assessing the monthly report: individual industries can expand even when total payroll employment is essentially flat or slightly lower. The June estimate does not, by itself, establish a broader trend in the state economy, and the preliminary figures remain subject to revision.
What the June estimate measures
The 4,387,100 total is the state’s seasonally adjusted payroll-employment estimate for June. The department reported the month-to-month change as a decline of 300 jobs.
The release identifies the sectors with reported gains, but the available report information does not specify which individual industries lost jobs or how many jobs each lost. As a result, the published figures support a description of a mixed labor-market month: several large sectors added workers, while total statewide payrolls edged down.
Professional and business services accounted for the largest reported increase, followed closely by private education and health services. Together, those two sectors added 7,300 jobs in the June estimate. Construction, manufacturing and other services contributed another 500 jobs each.
Because the statewide total decreased, the listed gains should not be treated as net new employment for New Jersey as a whole. They describe sector-level changes within a preliminary estimate whose totals reflect both additions and losses across the labor market.
Next employment update scheduled for Aug. 20
The Department of Labor and Workforce Development said the next preliminary U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates covering June were scheduled for release on Aug. 20, 2026.
That update is the next identified checkpoint for businesses and workers tracking whether the June sector gains and the modest statewide decline are revised or change in subsequent estimates. Until then, the June report remains a preliminary reading: 4,387,100 seasonally adjusted payroll jobs, down 300 from the prior month.
Sources
- New Jersey Employment Report: June 2026, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development
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