After a year that saw a recession, a doubled unemployment rate and a vitriolic gubernatorial campaign excoriating New Jersey’s business climate, the title of a new report on the state’s economy comes as a bit of a shock: "Be proud to be in New Jersey."
Go ahead. Be proud. Because our problems are relative.
"Well, there is a lot be proud of — because it’s not as bad as Florida or Arizona or California, some of the hardest-hit areas," said Anika Khan, an economist with Wells and one of the authors of the report released last week. "It could be worse."
Much of New Jersey’s economy still seems awful: 78,800 jobs lost since January 2008, more residents leaving the state than moving in and a state government wracked with debt and low tax collections, according to the Wells Fargo report. But things are starting to turn around.
"The deterioration in job losses is subsiding, however, and economic activity appears to be improving," the report said. Former Manhattanites in search of cheaper rents are joining the ranks of bridge-and-tunnel crowds, and residential building permits likely have passed the bottom.
While the pharmaceutical industry has lost jobs because of mergers, acquisitions and consolidations, there are still many scientists here, and the state is the wealthiest in the nation, Khan said.
How bad it feels depends on where in the state you live or work, Khan said. South Jersey — particularly Camden and Atlantic City — have some of the highest unemployment rates in the country now that manufacturing and tourism jobs have disappeared.
But some counties — Hunterdon, Somerset, Mercer and Morris, for example — have unemployment rates under 8 percent, or about two points below the state rate of 9.7 percent.
New Jersey’s biggest challenge will be the state budget and finances, Khan said, adding the road back to prosperity will be long and uphill.
"We’re out of a recession — however, it’s not going to feel like we’re out of a recession," she said. "It’s going to take a while."
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