New Jersey jobless rate hits record low of 3.5 percent
Nadine Vixama works as a cashier at a Whole Foods in Cambridge, Mass. Vixama has taken English classes and a program in store and customer service basics to gain work skills in retail. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey's unemployment rate for June has fallen to a record low of 3.5 percent.
The state Labor and Workforce Development Department made the announcement Thursday. The agency says it's the lowest monthly rate since record-keeping began in 1976.
The June figure is down from the 3.8 percent rate reported for May and below the national rate of 3.7 percent.
The department says the state added 10,200 jobs in June, with most of the gains coming in the private sector. Among the largest sectors adding jobs were professional and business services, trade, transportation and utilities and manufacturing.