newjerseynewsroom.com

But state still the nation's 4th highest for jobless

The number of jobless New Jerseyans filing claims for unemployment benefits hit a 19-month low in March, according to a U.S. Department of Labor report released Friday.

A total of 9,273 people filed claims in the third week in March, a decline of 2,500 or nearly 20 percent. That marks the lowest level of new unemployment claims since July 2008, but the 9,273 claims keeps New Jersey ranked as the state with the fourth highest amount of unemployment in the nation.

The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development will provide a larger picture of New Jersey's unemployment situation later in the month when it gives additional statistics for March.

The February unemployment rate was set at 9.8 percent, down 0.1 percent from January.

Nationally in March, employment increased by the most in three years, but the jobless rate remained at 9.7 percent, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Payrolls increased by 162,000, a number that includes 48,000 temporary workers hired by the U.S. government to help conduct the 2010 census.

Average hourly earnings fell 0.1 percent last month, the first decrease since records began in 2006.

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM