APRIL 27, 2015 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015, 1:20 AM
BY HUGH R. MORLEY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
n 3.8% rate in 2014, a drop from the previous year, was higher than all but six states
New Jersey had one of the highest rates of long-term unemployment in the nation in 2014, even as the state job market slowly improved, figures released last week showed.
The percentage of the state’s workforce out of work for 15 weeks or more in 2014 — on average, 3.8 percent — was higher than all but six states, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national long-term jobless rate was 3 percent. New Jersey’s rate tumbled from an average of 5.1 percent in 2013.
Charles Steindel, former chief economist under Governor Christie and now a resident scholar at the Anisfield School of Business at Ramapo College, said the high rate of long-term unemployed reflects the sluggishness of the New Jersey economy, which has lagged behind the national revival.
“New Jersey has had a weak recovery, so it’s taking people longer to find a job,” he said.
He added that the state’s employment insurance payments are among the highest in the nation, and that may allow people to take longer to find the right job.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/nj-state-news/n-j-struggles-with-long-term-joblessness-1.1319422
And this is happening during an economic recovery. NJ will be CRUSHED in the next downturn. Clearly the state is bankrupt despite the highest state + local property taxes in the nation. Despite that we have 1,988 public pensioners drawing +$100K pensions,
There are so many associated benefits (Sec 8, healthcare, food stamps) that come hand-in-hand with unemployment benefits in NJ, that resuming work becomes a big disincentive. On top of that, there are opportunities to work somewhere off the books, which can make life pretty sweet.
well # 1 at 5;10 am, you are are talking about top managers and fire and o corse POLICE . YES THEM.
But the Police and firemen unions have been steadfastly opposed to any changes in the pension system that don’t benefit them, and they’re among the worst at taking advantage of overtime rules that plump up a lifetime of payouts.
Would you believe the largest number of members of the $100K Club are our men and women in uniform? Retired local law enforcement and firefighters make up nearly 50% of all pensioners making over $100,000 a year. And nearly 93% of them took advantage of an exclusive “special retirement” provision that allows them to cash out after 25 years of service and start drawing their full pension in their foties and fifties. Hey if you want to retire, that’s great, but if you’ve only contributed to the pension plan for 25 years, you shouldn’t get to draw on it until you reach the age of 60+. Get a job like the rest of us.
Over $100 million a year in pension checks to the top 1,000 police & fire retirees ! To sit around and do nothing better than complain about how the rest of us should pay more taxes to keep funding their country club lifestyle and free healthcare…. just sickening.