A new report on New Jersey’s hospitals looks at their impact on the state at the height of the pandemic. In 2020, hospitals saved the lives of more than 105,000 critically ill patients. The hospital industry employed 154,000 workers in 2020, but one byproduct of the pandemic has been a staff shortage, which is resulting in higher costs for hospitals, according to Sean Hopkins with the New Jersey Hospital Association. The association says hospitals contributed nearly $28 billion in direct economic activity to the state in 2020. The impact grows to $62 billion when measuring how hospital spending supports other industries.
Toll revenues have increased in New Jersey, as traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway is nearly back to pre-COVID-19 levels. Toll revenues on both highways were up in the first three months of the year, compared to last year. Meantime, the Turnpike Authority also announced that, under a new financing agreement, drivers who pay for E-ZPass with a credit or debit card won’t have to pay credit card processing fees for the next three years, as the authority will cover that cost.
Mortgage rates continue to climb, with conventional rates now at their highest level since 2009. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has increased to 5.37%, up from 5.20%. A year ago, the rate was 3.17%. The Mortgage Bankers Association says demand for mortgages is now about half of what it was a year ago and that’s leading to layoffs in the industry. Wells Fargo announced job cuts due to the decline in its home lending business.
