July 28, 2008
June 2008 was the sixth month in a row that the United States lost jobs. Across the nation, 62,000 jobs were lost in one month, bringing the total this year to a staggering 438,000. This is the longest losing employment streak in the US since 2002. The unemployment rate, currently holding steady at 5.5 percent, is expected to climb and will likely top 6 percent early next year. Currently, there are approximately 8.5 million unemployed Americans.
June was an exceptionally hard month for the Garden State. Over 4,200 jobs were lost throughout the state, almost 7 percent of the national total. All the jobs were in the private sector. Of all the industries affected by the layoffs, the hardest hit was the trucking industry. Nearly one quarter of the jobs lost in June - 1,000 jobs - were trucking jobs.
In what appears to be a strange irony, the trucking industry throughout the US is showing signs of recovery and even posting profits in many states. On one hand, thousands of jobs are being cut throughout the industry. Due to the excessive rise in fuel prices, maintaining large fleets has become economically hazardous, especially for independent companies. The result has been a sharp increase in company closures and bankruptcies. However, consumer demand for transport has not declined. In fact, the remaining companies, having downsized and consolidated, are having difficulties keeping up with the demand. This has resulted in a seller's market for services, with high prices of fuel being absorbed by the consumer, and profits increasing for the industry. In the middle of this economic see-saw is the trucker. Many independent drivers cannot compete with the large companies, and many large companies have trimmed the number of employees in order to remain profitable.
New Jersey has seen a slump in the housing market which, in turn, has reduced the demand for building products and home furnishings. This reduction, combined with major declines in statewide manufacturing, has contributed heavily to lost trucking jobs as these industries are major customers of the transport market.
The Rutgers Economic Advisory Service, which studies the New Jersey economy, does not see any immediate relief in site for the state. In fact, indicators show that New Jersey will continue losing jobs until 2010. They predict that the state's economy will begin to turn around in the second quarter of 2010 and the state will recover its lost jobs by mid-2011.
Until then, many residents of New Jersey's hardest hit industries, including its truckers, face a worrisome future.
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