New Jersey unemployment applications surge as ‘widespread’ state job seekers’ applications surge
New Jersey has received more than 13,000 applications for unemployment benefits in the past three weeks, surpassing the 14,000 expected in February, according to the state Department of Labor and Industries.
A total of 13,061 people applied for unemployment in New Jersey, up from the 12,534 expected in January, according.
The state also reported that the number of people who applied for disability benefits in New York, which was the nation’s largest state when it was last surveyed in April, jumped to 7,913.
In New Jersey the number increased by more than 7,000 to about 2,100 applications for disability.
The increase comes as the unemployment rate in the state jumped to 6.7 percent in February from 6.6 percent in January.
That rate has been in decline for two months.
The number of applicants for unemployment assistance has risen over the past few months, with the total number of applications jumping by more a third in the first six months of the year.
A state report last month showed that about a third of New Jersey’s unemployed have received unemployment assistance.
New Jersey unemployment officials said that applications for benefits have jumped in recent weeks.
The state said the increase was mostly due to an increase in the number who applied, and that the increase is primarily driven by applicants who are able to show their income in a state database.
The Department of Employment Services also said that its caseloads increased by about 400 employees, or about 10 percent.
The New Jersey Department of Job and Family Services said it expects the total state unemployment rate to continue to drop as job seekers start to look for jobs.
The department said that the unemployment benefits for New Jersey workers have risen more than 9 percent in recent months.
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