Unemployment in NJ holds steady in January

TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey officials say the unemployment rate saw no change in January, holding steady at 9 percent. While the state still ranks below the 8.3 percent national jobless rate, there was a sharp increase in the number of new jobs. The state added 13,300 jobs — more than any other month since Oct. 2007; of those, 10,700 were in the private sector and 2,600 were government jobs. The preliminary numbers are measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and were released by the state Labor Department. The report out on March 8 revised the number of jobs gained in 2011 to 31,100 new jobs from an initial estimate of 36,400 new jobs.