NJ Unemployment has been much higher as a percentage, than all the surrounding states, yet Governor Jon Corzine is hoping for good news when the latest unemployment reports are released.
New Jersey’s unemployment rate rose to a 9.2 percent which is at least 1 full percentage point higher than Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and even New Hampshire and Maine. Some cities in New Jersey are in an even worse situation with cities like Newark having unemployment rates exceeding 14% and Camden suffering an 18% unemployment rate.
The states central issue has been our economic situation and Corzine is going to face some stiff competition for re-election if he doesn’t get a good grip of the situation in our state.
Another issue with being unemployed in New Jersey is the application process to receive benefits. You cannot assume that you will automatically be able to enjoy your New Jersey unemployment benefits. There is a rather complicated application process, followed by weekly re-application in order to receive your check.
In order to qualify for benefits in New Jersey, the unemployed must meet the following qualifications / criteria:
You must have been a resident of New Jersey during the time employed
You must have been employed in NJ for the past 18 months
You must not have worked for the Federal Government
You must not hagve been in military service
If you are not a citizen, you need to give an Alien Registration number
You must have worked at least 20 weeks and
You must have earned a minimum of $7,200
In order to apply for benefits, you need to visit njuifile.net and have the following information ready:
A valid social security number
if you are not a citizen, your alien registration number
Your job recall rate if any.
All the details of your last four employers including company name, address and a contact number
The details of your employment period why you no longer work for any of those four employers
The other way you can claim your unemployment is by contacting the re-employment center via telephone at one of the following numbers:
Northeast New Jersey – (201) 601-4100
Northwest and Central New Jersey – (732) 761-2020
South Jersey – (856) 507-2340
One nice thing is that you can apply for direct deposit, assuming you have a valid checking account.
Jobs are scarce in New Jersey these days. I have several friends and relatives currently scouting for jobs on sites like Craigslist and NJ News among others and having little if any success. If you are one of the many that are unemployed in NJ these days, I wish you luck.
You’re gonna need it.
