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Census data show poverty up, incomes down as NJ economic recovery lags

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Census data show poverty up, incomes down as NJ economic recovery lags

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2014, 12:48 AM
BY KATHLEEN LYNN AND DAVE SHEINGOLD
STAFF WRITERS

Despite a growing national economy, New Jersey’s weak job market led to lower incomes and a higher poverty rate in the state last year, the Census Bureau said Wednesday. Bergen and Passaic counties were hit especially hard.

Wide disparities

Households in North Jersey generally lost ground financially in 2013, while those in and around New York City fared better.

Median household incomes:

New Jersey

Bergen County: down 2.7 percent

Passaic County: down 1.7 percent

Hudson County: down 3.9 percent

Morris County: up 3.6 percent

New York

Manhattan: up 6 percent

Brooklyn: up 3.6 percent

Staten Island: down 3.3 percent

Nassau: up 1.7 percent

Westchester County: up 7.4 percent

The recession ended in 2009, but a wide range of census measures showed New Jersey was still feeling its effects in 2013. Food stamp use rose; the homeownership rate dropped. Families were more likely to delay having children or decide against paying private-school tuition.

Although one year’s census figures do not indicate a trend, New Jersey’s numbers have generally been tracking in the same direction since the recession. Offering some hope for a better 2014 in New Jersey, experts say a recent drop in unemployment, as well as a higher minimum wage, could mean that incomes have started to rise, and poverty rates to fall, this year.

But in 2013, median household incomes in New Jersey, adjusted for inflation, dropped by 0.7 percent, to an estimated $70,165, mirroring similar declines in surrounding states. New Jersey incomes, after inflation, have dropped 9 percent since 2000, and 6.8 percent from 2007, right before the recession hit.

Nationally, household incomes were essentially flat last year, at about $52,000.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/census-data-show-poverty-up-incomes-down-as-nj-economic-recovery-lags-1.1090302#sthash.9U1HAsaX.dpuf

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New Jersey start-up funding continues to drop

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New Jersey start-up funding continues to drop

APRIL 19, 2014    LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY ANDREW WYRICH
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

* Nationwide flow of venture capital isn’t washing ashore here

A new report on Friday said funding for start-ups in New Jersey dropped sharply in the first quarter, falling 78 percent from the period a year ago and continuing a trend that began in the second quarter last year.

In contrast, funding for start-ups nationally reached levels not seen since 2001.

According to a MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, investors funneled $19.6 million in funding to five New Jersey companies in the first three months of this year, down from more than $80.2 million that went to eight companies in the 2013 quarter.

Two North Jersey companies were among the five that received funding. The Clifton-based software maker Caktus Inc., which designs software that tracks a person’s water intake, received seed funding. LiveU Ltd. of Hackensack, which develops technology for live broadcasting, received later-stage funding. The amount invested into both companies was not disclosed in the report.

“The $19.6 million invested is the lowest quarter in MoneyTree Report history, and the funding in New Jersey continues to trend downward in recent quarters,” Brett Harrington, a senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers Emerging Companies Services, said in a statement. “Hopefully, the overall increase that has been seen nationally will positively impact New Jersey in Q2.”

Yearlong slide

The money venture capitalists invested in New Jersey-based start-ups and the number of companies that got funding have declined steadily since the second quarter of 2013. In the third quarter last year, the roughly $20 million invested in 11 companies was the lowest amount invested in New Jersey in 15 years, according to the report.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/tight-state-for-start-ups-1.999421#sthash.pQvL7Ybe.dpuf