What recession? NJ employers discover new perks to attract workers as economy rolls on
Michael L. Diamond, Asbury Park Press
6 min read
New Jersey's job market is slowing down from its record pace in the wake of the pandemic, but employers continue to hire at a steady clip to meet the demand of surprisingly resilient consumers, a report from the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development showed Thursday.
The hiring is a sign that many employers have set aside widespread fears of a recession and instead are continuing to search for new ways to attract workers.
"Overall I would say it's more difficult than it's ever been to attract employees," said Rob Sickel, owner of Pine Belt Cars in Lakewood. The dealership recently expanded its benefits to include $1,000 scholarships to employees whose children are graduating from high school and continuing their education.
New Jersey's job market in September was mixed. The state's employers had a net gain of 7,700 jobs, but its unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4% from 4.2%, the monthly jobs report said.
Pine Belt Chrysler Jeep technician Rob Krychiw works with the car onboard computer to diagnose a warning light signaling a possible emissions leak. Cars have sensors throughout the body these days that signal a possible problems and it takes a technician to figure out the problems. To attract qualified workers, they are offering $1,000 scholarships for the employees children.
The report includes a survey of employers to measure the number of jobs and a survey of households to measure the unemployment rate. They don't always move in the same direction.
In the bigger picture, economists said the New Jersey job market remains strong. The state added 65,000 jobs during the past 12 months, slower than the whopping 129,700 jobs created in 2022, but still faster than the 34,000 jobs a year that it averaged during the 2010s.
The job growth has surprised economists, who expected the Federal Reserve Board's decision to increase interest rates and slow down inflation would come with an bigger increase in unemployment. While rates have climbed sharply and made it more expensive to borrow, consumers have continued to spend.
"The economy is more resilient than anyone has forecast," said James W. Hughes, a Rutgers University economist.
Three things to know:
The labor shortage hasn't gone anywhere
Pine Belt Chrysler Jeep technician Rob Krychiw works with the car onboard computer to diagnose a warning light signaling a possible emissions leak. Cars have sensors throughout the body these days that signal a possible problems and it takes a technician to figure out the problems. To attract qualified workers, they are offering $1,000 scholarships for the employees children.
Many employers are singing a familiar refrain: It remains tough to find the help they need. In August, there were 9.6 million job vacancies nationwide, according to federal data, down 20% from the peak in March 2022, but still 33% higher than before the pandemic.
Experts say they don't expect the labor shortage to ease anytime soon. The giant baby boomer population, now between the ages of 59 and 77, is retiring, the working-age population has stopped growing and immigration rates are declining, according to The Conference Board, an economic research group.
"The U.S. has never simultaneously experienced low growth in the working-age population together with high levels of retirements," it said in a 2022 report.
It has left companies rethinking how to attract workers.
New Brunswick-based Johnson & Johnson, which has 16,000 employees in New Jersey, rolled out a series of new benefits in July that include: travel expenses for any medical procedures that aren't available within 100 miles of workers' homes; bereavement leave of up to 30 business days for the loss of an immediate family member; and a service that allows mothers traveling for business to ship breast milk home for free.
Tinton Falls-based Hatteras Press, a printing company with 270 employees, offers a 401(k) plan with a 10% match. It offers three different health insurance plans. And since COVID, it has provided other perks, including free acai bowls from Playa Bowls once a month for its employees, said Bill Duerr, Hatteras' president.
Still, the company's executives have begun to meet to ensure its compensation is competitive, Duerr said, noting Hatteras is hiring both machine operators and office workers to help the company maintain its growth.
"All year, we've heard talks of recession," Duerr said. "We haven't really felt it."
Pine Belt Chrysler Jeep technician Rob Krychiw works with the car onboard computer to diagnose a warning light signaling a possible emissions leak. Cars have sensors throughout the body these days that signal a possible problems and it takes a technician to figure out the problems. To attract qualified workers, they are offering $1,000 scholarships for the employees children.
New Jersey's unemployment rate has climbed steadily, from 3% in August 2022 to 4.4% last month, higher than the U.S. rate of 3.8%.
But other figures show the state's economy has withstood rising interest rates. Last year, its gross domestic product grew 2.8%, the eighth-strongest nationwide. And in the second quarter of this year, its personal income grew 5.5%, trailing only New York, Massachusetts and Kentucky, according to government figures.
While economists predicted a recession, consumers have continued to spend, emboldened by low unemployment, rising home values and a strong stock market, experts said.
There is another wild card.
"I think people were so cooped up in their houses and not eating at restaurants and doing other things that all of a sudden now without COVID, people can go to restaurants, they can go to the movie theaters, they can go travel, they can do things," said Robert Scott, an economist at Monmouth University in West Long Branch.
New Jersey sectors with the biggest gains in September: education and health services added 7,600 jobs; the public sector added 1,500 jobs; other services such as maintenance and repair workers added 1,100 jobs; and manufacturing added 900 jobs.
Sectors with the biggest losses: construction lost 1,600 jobs; professional and business services lost 800 jobs; and information lost 800 jobs.
And some New Jersey companies, including powerhouses such as Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Nestlé, Prudential Financial and Bristol Myers Squibb, have announced layoffs this year.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Wednesday, June 14, 2023, at the Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
"Forecasters generally expect gross domestic product to come in very strong for the third quarter before cooling off in the fourth quarter and next year," he said. "Still, the record suggests that a sustainable return to our 2% inflation goal is likely to require a period of below-trend growth and some further softening in labor market conditions."
Rob Sickel, owner of Pine Belt Enterprises, stands in his lot in Lakewood.
It's unlikely to make hiring appreciably easier for Rob Sickel at Pine Belt, who owns four dealerships in Lakewood. Without enough technicians, customers need to wait longer to get their vehicles serviced and repaired.
So he has focused on retention. He hosts a summer employee picnic. He sends out quarterly surveys to workers, asking for feedback. And he borrows ideas from Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, where he sits on the board of trustees and recently learned about offering scholarships to employees' children heading to college or trade school.
"We could hire, between (our) four stores, 15 tomorrow," Sickel said.
Michael L. Diamond is a business reporter who has been writing about the New Jersey economy and health care industry for more than 20 years. He can be reached at mdiamond@gannettnj.com.
