National Small Business Week kicks off on Monday and in Newark, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Rep. Donald Payne (D-10th), and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka took a walking tour of some of the city’s small companies. Menendez touted his support for small businesses, including a bill he introduced — the Small Business Lending Disclosure Act, which increases transparency for businesses that seek financing. New Jersey’s small businesses employ 1.9 million people.
It should be easier now for New Jerseyans to file for unemployment benefits. The state labor department has made what it calls significant updates to the unemployment insurance application, including simplifying questions. You’ll recall when hundreds of thousands of workers lost their jobs due to the pandemic, some saw their benefits delayed because of misunderstandings about certain questions on the unemployment application. Other questions will be reworded in the weeks ahead. Meantime, the changes will also enable residents to apply for benefits using their mobile phones. The modernization project was done in partnership with the U.S. labor department.
An insurance company is setting up a headquarters in New Jersey. World Insurance Associates is relocating several of its New Jersey and New York offices to the new location in Iselin. The company says it’s had exponential growth during the past few years, and it was time to establish a new headquarters.
Relief at the gas pump is nowhere in sight. Gas prices rose again over the past week on renewed worries about oil supply due to the war in Ukraine. In New Jersey, regular gas is now averaging just under $4.23 a gallon. That’s up about 12 cents a gallon in the past week. A year ago, gas cost less than $3 a gallon.
