The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
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Hackensack NJ — More than five years after the COVID-19 pandemic emptied offices across New Jersey, vacancy rates remain stubbornly high—particularly in older suburban office buildings that have struggled to adapt to today’s hybrid workforce.
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Trenton NJ, While the state is less than a year away from electing a new governor, New Jersey businesses already know what they’d like to see from him or her after Gov. Phil Murphy completes his second term in office.
Continue reading NJBIA’s 66th Annual Business Outlook Survey: New Jersey’s Lack of Affordability
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Trenton NJ, the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index fell by 2.5 points in August to 91.2, erasing all of July’s gain. This is the 32nd consecutive month below the 50-year average of 98. The Uncertainty Index rose to 92, its highest level since October 2020. Inflation remains the top issue among small business owners, with 24% of owners reporting it as their top small business operating issue, down one point from July.
Continue reading New Jersey Small Business Optimism Dips in August
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Continue reading Rutgers Policy Lab: Slow Growth and High Unemployment for New Jersey
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TRENTON NJ ,Two newly released surveys do not paint a pretty picture nationally or in New Jersey for the small-business economy.
Continue reading NFIB Report: Small Business Optimism Reaches Lowest Level Since 2012
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Trenton NJ, NJBIA Deputy Chief Government Affairs Officer Ray Cantor released the following statement regarding the publishing of the final Environmental Justice rule in the New Jersey Register today, as announced by Gov. Phil Murphy.
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Ridgewood NJ, with around 20% of new businesses failing within one year and inflation making entrepreneurship even more difficult, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2023’s Best & Worst States to Start a Business, as well as expert commentary.
To determine the most fertile grounds for planting and growing new ventures, WalletHub compared the 50 U.S. states across 27 key indicators of startup success. The data set ranges from financing accessibility to the percentage of residents who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to office-space affordability.
Continue reading WalletHub Study: New Jersey Is 2023’s 4th Worst State to Start a Business
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Trenton NJ, the New Jersey Business & Industry Association is opposing a bill today that will result in burdensome requirements, and possibly lawsuits, on temporary staffing agencies and the third-party companies that utilize them.
Continue reading Murphy Administration Temp Worker Bill’s Burdensome Impact on NJ Businesses
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Trenton NJ, As part of its recent budget testimonies provided to the Legislature, NJBIA has released its updated 2022 Regional Business Climate Analysis showing New Jersey continues to significantly trail the rest of the region in business climate.
Continue reading New Jersey Still Worst Business Climate in the Region
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Trenton NJ, With the U.S. gaining 199,000 jobs in December, below the previous month’s 249,000 jobs, WalletHub today released updated rankings for the States Whose Unemployment Rates Are Bouncing Back Most, to illustrate which areas of the country have had the best recovery so far.
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Ridgewood NJ, New Jersey still does not have a plan to reopen. Meanwhile, yesterday Governor Cuomo announced people can get served at bars in New York City beginning Monday and that outdoor and indoor dining curfews for bars and restaurants in the city will both be lifted by the end of May. Disappointingly, this week Governor Murphy only announced that indoor room capacities would increase to 50 percent for certain venues such as weddings, school proms, political events, funerals and performances starting on May 10. New Jersey’s indoor dining is still capped at 50% and bar sitting is prohibited.
Continue reading New Jersey Small Business Disappointed by Slow Reopening Plan
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MIDLAND PARK NJ, The state economy will be facing a deluge of business closings if it doesn’t do more to help employers, according to a COVID-19 Business Impact Survey by Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips.
Of the 121 survey responses, nearly half (45%) will not survive the next three weeks, and one-hundred (83.3%) businesses will be closed by the end of June.
Continue reading Business survey shows state not doing enough to save economy, small-business owners
N.J. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Bracken
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Ridgewood NJ, N.J. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Bracken pointed out facts on Phil Murphy’s catastrophic budget . In making this proposal, the Governor said there is no proof New Jersey’s highest bracket taxpayers are leaving the state. The study by Wealth X in 2019 showed very clearly that more than 5,000 residents with net worth over $1 million had fled New York and New Jersey in 2018.
N.J. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Bracken’s Statement on Governor Murphy’s Budget Address :
file photo by Boyd Loving
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Ridgewood NJ, just one day after progressive groups lobbied Governor Murphy for massive tax increases ,a new study finds that New York and New Jersey are losing more residents than any other states.
The career website Zippia looked at the population data from the Census’ American Community Survey to determine the states with the largest population decrease from 2017 to 2018, which is the most recent data available.
Continue reading New Study Shows New York, New Jersey Face Largest Population Decrease In The U.S.
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Trenton NJ, New Jersey Business & Industry Association Vice President of Government Affairs Christopher Emigholz issued the following statement today regarding the release of the Senate Select Committee on Economic Growth Strategies (SEGS) report.
