Preliminary numbers show that after no change in June, the unemployment rate in New Jersey ticked down two-tenths of a percentage point to 3.7% in July, according to information released by the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development on Thursday.
The pilot program does not apply to select employees of the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development and Motor Vehicle Commission who specialize in in-person services.
But the statewide unemployment rate increased by a tenth of a point over June's revised number to 7.3%, nearly two points higher than the national figure of 5.4%.
Since last March, more than 2.1 million residents have filed for unemployment benefits. More than 266,000 are considered long-term unemployed, meaning they have been collecting for more than a year.