Monmouth County workers are still feeling the brunt of the 2008 economic collapse, as the county’s latest unemployment rate is 3.2 percent higher than it was 12 months earlier.
An estimated 28,666 workers residing in the county were without jobs in November 2009, 10,843 more than November 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That surge of lost jobs pushed the unemployment rate among Monmouth County residents from 6.3 percent to 8.5 percent in that time. Local unemployment figures were released Jan. 5.
The increase in people seeking employment is roughly equal to the population of Freehold Borough.
The county, however, is on stronger footing than the country (10 percent seasonally adjusted unemployment) and state (9.4 percent). Neighboring counties are witnessing similar or worse levels. Ocean County’s unemployment rate is 10 percent and Middlesex County’s is 8.6 percent.
Despite the recent downturn in the economy, Monmouth County does not track unemployment trends, said Bill Heine, the county’s director of public information.
“Employment is not really a county issue,” he said. “It is a state issue. We don’t track it.”
Kevin Smith, spokesman for the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development, did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Business leaders and statistical data suggest that the worst of the economic crisis has passed. The county and most of its large towns tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics saw their unemployment rates peak in the summer of 2009. Middletown, for example, saw its unemployment rate for residents top out at 9 percent in July. The November figures place that unemployment rate at 8.6 percent, a slight increase from the month before.
Lynda Rose, president of the Eastern Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce in Red Bank, said she wasn’t surprised that unemployment jumped in July even though the market went into decline months earlier.
“You don’t want to lay someone off. You only do it when push comes to shove,” she said.
Those who kept their jobs saw their roles changed or reduced as employers searched for ways to bring in revenue.
“I think there was a terrible, terrible bottleneck this summer when everyone was paralyzed to move,” Rose said. “It’s the ‘Just in Case Theory.’ I used to pay this guy in full, now I’ll pay him in part, just in case.”
Nationally, the real estate market has slowed down. Builders are in the red as developments and redevelopments are put on hold. The same holds true for Monmouth County.
“I have construction companies and contractors that are seeing 50 to 75 percent drops in revenue,” said Raymond Eckhoff, vice president of commercial lending at TD Bank and a board member of EMACC. “If the buildings aren’t turning and being renovated, then the contractors don’t have any work.”
Not all industries are foundering, however. Some have been able to skirt the worst of the economic downturn because clients simply can’t afford to go without their services.
No matter the downturn, businesses still depend on computer systems to organize their files, market their services and communicate with clients. That dependency has relatively buoyed technology companies through rough seas.
“You absolutely need it to run your business. You need to be in touch with trends,” Rose said. “It’s not like you can fix your own hard drive. You still have to call those guys.”
Eckhoff said the health care industry is going strong for the same reason.
“I think it’s partly because most of the people out there who are employed … will continue to go to the doctor. I have two children at home, and if they’re sick, I’m bringing them to the doctor.”
Editor’s note: Unless otherwise stated, the unemployment figures in this article are not seasonally adjusted. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not track seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for counties and towns.