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Essex County, NJ jobs, unemployment and layoffs

Essex County’s unemployment rate is 5.7%. Employers filed 12 layoff notices here in the last 12 months. 720 open professional jobs are in its cities.

Essex County economy

  • 5.7%

    unemployment, Aug 2026

    7.2% the month before

  • 429,447

    in the labor force

    Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

  • 854,130

    people in Essex County

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau

  • $76,712

    median household income

    Source: Census ACS

  • 42%

    of workers in white-collar occupations

    Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Essex County layoffs

  • 12

    WARN layoff notices, last 12 months

  • 1,395

    workers named

    A floor: states may leave out counts

  • 10

    employers

WARN notices filed in Essex County, newest first
Notice dateEmployerCity or countyWorkersTypeSource
Mars Information ServicesTakes effect Jan 31, 2027Newark55—State record
Prudential Insurance Company of AmericaTakes effect Nov 28, 2026Newark125—State record
CulinaireTakes effect Dec 31, 2026Newark75—State record
Mars WrigleyConfectionary US, LLCTakes effect Oct 16, 2026Newark307—State record
PrudentialTakes effect Sep 18, 2026Newark89—State record
Automatic Data Processing, Inc.Takes effect Sep 25, 2026Roseland76—State record
Spirit AirlinesTakes effect May 2, 2026Newark201—State record
PrudentialTakes effect Jul 17, 2026Newark53—State record
Reckitt BenckiserTakes effect Mar 2, 2026Nutley57—State record
Luna Foods dba Joey's Fine FoodsTakes effect Jun 19, 2026Newark61—State record
PrudentialTakes effect May 7, 2026Newark54—State record
Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJTakes effect Apr 26, 2026Newark242—State record

All layoff notices in the state

Employers hiring most in Essex County

Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.

  1. Monolith AI34 open roles
  2. Selective Insurance30 open roles
  3. Amazon26 open roles
  4. CoreWeave26 open roles
  5. Broadridge Financial Solutions23 open roles
  6. Audible22 open roles
  7. Platinum Global Talent Solutions16 open roles
  8. JSR Tech Consulting11 open roles
  9. PSEG Long Island Public Service Enterprise Group11 open roles
  10. 4 Staffing9 open roles

Largest employers headquartered in Essex County

Employee counts with a year are published figures (Wikidata). Other sizes are estimates from our company directory, not payroll counts.

Colleges in Essex County

Colleges in Essex County
CollegeCityTypeStudents
New Jersey Institute of TechnologyNewarkPublic 4-year10,000–19,999
Rutgers University-NewarkNewarkPublic 4-year10,000–19,999
Seton Hall UniversitySouth OrangePrivate nonprofit 4-year5,000–9,999
Caldwell UniversityCaldwellPrivate nonprofit 4-year1,000–4,999
Bloomfield College of Montclair State UniversityBloomfieldPublic 4-yearUnder 1,000
Pillar CollegeNewarkPrivate nonprofit 4-yearUnder 1,000

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Essex County. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

  • Essex County One Stop Center

    East Orange · Comprehensive · 973-395-3220

    8:30-4:30 Monday - Friday

  • Newark One-Stop Career Center

    Newark · Comprehensive · 973-648-3370

    Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Cities in Essex County

Other New Jersey counties

All of New Jersey

Laid off or looking for work in Essex County?

See what to do first and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); WARN notices from New Jersey’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers.