In April, several New Jersey industries saw robust job gains and the unemployment rate stayed steady at 3.5%. Job numbers in the state increased overall by 15,800 last month. The biggest gains were in professional business services (7,600); trade, transportation and utilities (3,600); education and health services (2,700), and hospitality (1,200). The public sector, on the other hand, saw a loss of 100 jobs. 

More than 99,000 jobs have been added in New Jersey over the past year, with almost half of those (45,400) added in education and health services. 

Overall, the labor force participation rate is continuing to rise. It’s at the highest it’s been since April 2013.