EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ-Rutgers University economists may havereacted with shock and dismay last week over word that New Jerseylost a total of 8,600 jobs in March, but commercial real estateleaders tell GlobeSt.com they see only an insignificant blip ineconomic recovery trends.

The state lost 11,600 private sector jobs for the month, whileadding 3,000 government jobs, according to the report from thestate Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Meanwhile,unemployment stayed at 9 percent.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” says Gualberto (Gil)Medina, the managing director for Cushman &Wakefield and a former state Commerce secretary. “It’s onemonth - and focusing on monthly numbers may detract us from seeingthe trend line, which has been fairly positive. Prior to March, thestate has been generating an average of 2,000-3,000 new jobs permonth for quite some time.”