Over the next few days we’ll get a good sense of how the job market is faring, as a series of reports are released. The first one out on Wednesday shows that demand for workers remained high at the end of last year, with nearly 10.5 million unfilled positions in November. Bottom line, this report showed continued strength in the job market. More to come later this week, including closely watched data on wages.
Even before this latest minimum wage increase, New Jersey businesses have had to deal with higher costs for workers for some time, according to Peter Dontas, New Jersey market executive for Wells Fargo.
CentraState Medical Center in Freehold is admitting patients again this week after what the hospital is calling an IT network issue that resulted in patients being diverted late last week. Things are mostly back to normal, although walk-ins are not being accepted in the outpatient radiology department, according to a spokeswoman.
Meantime, hospitals across the country have seen an increase in cybersecurity incidents and breaches, according to the American Hospital Association. Health officials say 594 data breaches were reported between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31 of last year.
With the new year comes an increase in benefits for a lot of things — such as social security and unemployment. Also in New Jersey, SNAP benefits are increasing. Legislation signed by Gov. Phil Murphy last summer provides a minimum SNAP benefit of $50 a month. Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin says the benefit is incredibly meaningful to working families and seniors, especially as we brace for the end of pandemic-era federal expansions to SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
