NJ Jobs Have Rebounded, But Must Come Back Stronger

NEWARK-Its unemployment rate still well above the national level at 9.3%, the Garden State nonetheless has regained a little more than half the private-sector jobs it lost during the recession, said Michael Van Wagner, executive director of the New Jersey Business Action Center and moderator of the opening panel at Wednesday’s RealShare New Jersey Opportunities Breakfast here. While panelists agreed that the administration of Gov. Chris Christie—including the initiative that Van Wagner heads—has far exceeded its predecessors in bolstering private-sector hiring, Marcus & Millichap‘s regional research director, Paul Arena, noted that far stronger job growth will be necessary in order to create across-the-board demand for commercial real estate.

That’s especially true in the office sector, where Bob Martie, EVP with Colliers International, said the space-use picture could be summed up in two words: BankofAmerica and MetLife. Both employers have announced major downsizing of their New Jersey operations, a move that follows the recent scaling back of what was formerly Big Pharma in the Garden State.