ALWAYS ROOM FOR JOB GROWTH IN NJ'S PUBLIC SECTOR

The latest figures from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development reveal New Jersey's jobless rate for January was 9.9 percent, down from 10 percent in December, but is still higher than the national rate. The national rate was 9.7 percent. The state lost 9,700 private sector jobs in January, with the construction and financial sectors hit hardest.

Any time the state's jobless rate drops it is good news, but hidden in the new numbers is a disturbing tidbit. Even with the unemployment rate at 9.9 percent for January, New Jersey still found a way to add 600 jobs to the public sector.

Revised state statistics indicate the state actually lost 114,100 jobs in 2009 instead of the previously reported figure of 90,100. New Jersey has lost more than 228,000 jobs since December 2007.