New Jersey has biggest monthly jobs gain in seven years
New Jersey added 17,600 jobs in May, its biggest employment gain in more than seven years, as governments filled seasonal positions and a new casino opened.
The unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent, one percentage point above the U.S. level, as the state labor force expanded, Governor Chris Christie told reporters in Trenton. New Jersey accounted for one-fourth of all U.S. jobs added in May, he said.
Christie, a 49-year-old Republican who faces re-election in 2013, said the growth supports his “Jersey Comeback,” a turnaround that he said will allow the state to raise spending while reducing income taxes 10 percent over three years. Some Democratic lawmakers have questioned whether the state can afford a tax cut as revenue falls short of the projections in Christie’s $32.1 billion budget proposal. (Dopp, Bloomberg)
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