Share this
Twitter
Myspace
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Slashdot
Furl
Yahoo
Technorati
Newsvine
Facebook
Export PDF
Print
E-mail
TagsUPDATED
State Sen. Steven Oroho (R-Sussex) said Thursday he is troubled by published comments questioning whether the Corzine administration employment data released Wednesday accurately reflects what went on in the New Jersey economy in July.
The report said the state gained 13,000 private sector jobs last month even as the unemployment rate rose from 9.2 percent to 9.3 percent, the highest level in 32 years.
James Hughes, prominent Rutgers University economist told a Newhouse News Service reporter, "There are some elements of the data that are hard to believe."
In a Bloomberg News article, Hughes is quoted as saying that reports of job growth in the state "are very surprising results ... and let's hope that they don't disappear when the data revisions occur.""There's nothing I'd like better than to see real job growth in our struggling state, but I'm afraid these reports may just turn out to be wishful thinking," Oroho said. "Economists who follow employment numbers for a living are saying that something's not adding up."
Oroho noted that the state's reported rise of 29,700 jobs in 2007 was corrected in 2008 to show that in reality, just 4,700 new jobs were created.
"Business must have reliable state data when making critical decisions about where to invest resources that create jobs,'' he said. "Inaccurate government data with subsequent large adjustments hurt New Jersey's credibility and reputation. Governor Corzine should order the labor commissioner to re-evaluate the July numbers for accuracy and to review his department's procedures to ensure that the statistics we provide to the public and businesses are as reliable as we can make them."
Kevin Smith, a spokesman for the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development said employment and unemployment estimates released each month in New Jersey and in every state are developed as part of the national estimate using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics methodology and procedures. The results of this process at all levels are scrutinized and validated by the BLS. He said the state does not control the selection of respondents to the BLS sample nor the data-collection process.
"Any revisions to monthly data are always based on more recent information such as late reports from employers,'' Smith said. "Annual benchmark adjustments conducted by all states using BLS procedures can result in revisions to the previous year’s monthly estimates because they are based on a comparison with actual employment tax records reported for that year.''
Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden) sees the state employment figures as something positive.
"This financial crisis has been a global problem and work still needs to be done, but Governor Corzine and the Democratic Legislature have made real progress toward ensuring New Jersey emerges stronger,'' Roberts said. "Thanks to our business friendly initiatives, we saw 13,000 private sector jobs added last month. Meanwhile, our efforts to streamline government led to 7,000 fewer public sector jobs.
"Businesses are staying and expanding in New Jersey and job creation is going up because New Jersey is positioned to lead the pack in the coming economic rebound,'' Roberts said. "The initiatives swiftly and smartly ushered into law by Governor Corzine and legislative Democrats are creating jobs as President Obama's recovery program boosts economic confidence. "This is positive momentum for New Jersey workers and businesses."
– TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM