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N.J. experiences largest private sector job growth in 16 years

Chris_Christie_Governor_of_New_Jersey

“We’re actually now over-performing the rest of the country, and I would suggest to you that the reason that there is that lag is because New Jersey is still a very expensive place to work and do business, and if the legislature had been willing to do other tax cuts and other measures that I put and recommended on property taxes and income taxes, perhaps we’d be in even better shape and it would’ve happened even faster. But, we’re certainly better off than we were from 2001 to 2009, when there was zero net private-sector job growth during a time” Governor Chris Christie

 

By KATHERINE LANDERGAN

03/13/17 03:08 PM EDT

Gov. Chris Christie on Monday heralded the state’s fiscal health as new figures showed New Jersey last year experienced the largest spike in private sector job growth since 2000.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the state gained 60,800 private sector jobs last year, meaning New Jersey recovered all of the jobs it lost during the recession, and then added another 65,000 jobs.

“This didn’t happen by accident,” Christie, a Republican, said at a press conference in Englewood Cliffs. “The tax cuts we put in place, holding the line on other taxes, the 2 percent property tax cap — all of these things are bearing fruit.”

Christie also said the state has shown strong gains in construction, the tourism industry, and the number of new businesses filings, and has seen a decline in foreclosures.

“It’s great news for the state and we should stop the drumbeat that somehow New Jersey is underperforming from a jobs perspective,” he said.

https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2017/03/nj-experiences-largest-private-sector-growth-in-16-years-110315