Leading, Slipping, Gaining, Lagging Analysis:
Diagnosing Employment Growth
Across New Jersey Counties
Employment Growth by County
County vs Statewide Average: 2010-2021 and 2021
Employment Growth by County
New Jersey:
2010-2021 = 0.96%
2021 = 5.00%
Borrowing from an approach that sometimes appears in the finance sections of the popular press, LSGL analysis is a handy and versatile way to compare, portray and classify the patterns of employment growth across all of New Jersey's 21 counties. In finance, this technique is used for comparing and assessing the market performance of individual securities or across industry sectors. For example, the performance of the 30 stocks contained within Dow are compared with one another over the past week in contrast to their performance over the past month using the Dow's respective averages as the points of reference.
Here in this New Jersey Regional Economic Analysis Project report, we adopt this approach to gauge and compare the employment growth of New Jersey's 21 counties over the year (2021) against the backdrop of their growth over the long term period (2010-2021). In so doing we classify their growth and performance into 4 broad categories: Leading, Slipping, Gaining and Lagging.
Employment Growth by County
County vs Statewide Average: 2010-2021 and 2021
Employment Growth by County
white dot
New Jersey:
2010-2021 = 0.96%
2021 = 5.00%
This figure displays the 21 counties of New Jersey as dots on a scattergram, with the vertical axis representing the average annual employment growth rate over the long-term period (2010-2021), and the horizontal axis representing the employment growth rate for the near-term (2021).
This figure sets apart those counties whose long-term employment growth exceeded the statewide average of 0.96%, by portraying them in the top two quadrants demarcated at 0.96% on the vertical axis. County whose long-term average annual employment growth rate trailed the statewide average (0.96%) are distributed in the bottom two quadrants. In all, 0 counties surpassed the statewide average over 2010-2021, while 0 counties fell below.
Similarly, the two quadrants on the right of this figure present the positions of the 0 counties whose most recent (2021) employment growth rate exceeded the statewide average (5.00%). The two quadrants on the left feature those 0 counties whose employment growth over 2021 trailed the statewide average.
Accordingly, each quadrant portrays the performance of all 21 counties corresponding with their long-term (2010-2021) and near-term (2021) performance relative to their respective statewide averages of 0.96% over 2010-2021 and 5.00% over 2021:
Leading counties () (top-right quadrant)...are the six counties whose average annual employment growth rate surpassed the statewide average both long-term (0.96%) and near-term (5.00%).
Slipping counties () (top-left quadrant)...are the two counties whose long-term average annual employment growth rate exceeded the statewide average (0.96%), but whose near-term growth has "slipped" by falling below the New Jersey average (5.00%).
Gaining counties () (bottom-right quadrant)...are the six counties whose long-term average annual employment growth rate fell below the statewide average (0.96%), but whose near-term growth has "gained" by registering above the average (5.00%) statewide.
Lagging counties () (bottom-left quadrant)...are the seven counties whose average annual employment growth rate fell under the statewide average both long-term (0.96%) and near-term (5.00%).
   
 
Summary of New Jersey's 21 County Totals
 
Short Term Average
 
 
Below
(5.00%)
Above
(5.00%)
 
Long
Term
Average
Above
(0.96%)
0
0
0
Below
(0.96%)
0
0
0
 
0
0
0
 
   
Leading Counties
2021 vs. 2010-2021 Averages
Leading Counties
white dot
New Jersey:
2010-2021 = 0.96%
2021 = 5.00%
Turning attention to the top-right quadrant from the discussion above, this figure features the distribution of the New Jersey counties classified as Leading. These counties surpassed New Jersey's average annual employment growth both long-term (2010-2021 = 0.96%) as well as near-term (2021 = 5.00%). Each is identified by its corresponding ranking based on its average annual employment growth rate over 2010-2021 as noted in the table below.
Of New Jersey's 21 counties, 6 (29%) are classified within the Leading () category. Those counties ranked by their long-term average include:
NOTE: Click on any county name to highlight its position in the chart above.
Slipping Counties
2021 vs. 2010-2021 Averages
Slipping Counties
white dot
New Jersey:
2010-2021 = 0.96%
2021 = 5.00%
This figure depicts the distribution of the 2 New Jersey counties classified as Slipping (top-left quadrant), in that their long-term average annual employment growth rate outpaced the average statewide (2010-2021 = 0.96%), while they trailed the statewide average near-term (2021 = 5.00%). Again, each county is identified by it's corresponding ranking based on its average annual employment growth rate over 2010-2021.
Only 2 ( 10%) of New Jersey's 21 counties are classified as Slipping (). Those counties ranked by their long-term average include:
NOTE: Click on any county name to highlight its position in the chart above.
Gaining Counties
2021 vs. 2010-2021 Averages
Gaining Counties
white dot
New Jersey:
2010-2021 = 0.96%
2021 = 5.00%
This figure shows the distribution of the 6 New Jersey counties classified as Gaining (bottom-right quadrant), in that their long-term average annual employment growth rate posted below the average statewide (2010-2021 = 0.96%), while they outpaced New Jersey's average near-term (2021 = 5.00%). Again, each county is identified by its corresponding ranking based on its average annual employment growth rate over 2010-2021.
Of New Jersey's 21 counties, 29% (6) are featured as Gaining (). Those counties ranked by their long-term average include:
NOTE: Click on any county name to highlight its position in the chart above.
Lagging Counties
2021 vs. 2010-2021 Averages
Lagging Counties
white dot
New Jersey:
2010-2021 = 0.96%
2021 = 5.00%
This figure depicts the distributions of the 7 New Jersey counties classified as Lagging (bottom-left quadrant). These counties trailed the statewide average annual employment growth both long-term (2010-2021 = 0.96%) as well as near-term (2021 = 5.00%). Again, each county is identified by its corresponding ranking based on it's average annual employment growth rate over 2010-2021.
33% of New Jersey's counties, 7 of 21, are characterized here as Lagging (). Those counties ranked by their long-term average include:
NOTE: Click on any county name to highlight its position in the chart above.
   
 
New Jersey
Employment Growth
County vs. Statewide Average
 
2010-2021
 
2021
 
 
Leading Counties
 
3
1.45
 
5
6.11
157,157
 
4
1.44
 
9
5.27
575,442
 
7
1.08
 
7
5.53
408,199
 
8
1.03
 
8
5.32
415,332
 
1
2.31
 
3
7.93
289,622
 
5
1.44
 
11
5.00
265,177
Slipping Counties
 
2
1.81
 
15
4.58
385,970
 
6
1.14
 
19
3.32
296,247
Gaining Counties
 
20
-0.38
 
1
8.09
163,200
 
14
0.60
 
12
5.00
278,160
 
12
0.64
 
2
7.99
62,884
 
13
0.62
 
6
5.60
245,684
 
19
0.02
 
10
5.06
28,799
 
16
0.25
 
4
6.59
63,227
Lagging Counties
 
10
0.80
 
14
4.82
656,533
 
11
0.68
 
13
4.95
285,595
 
18
0.22
 
17
4.31
76,538
 
15
0.39
 
21
3.18
479,270
 
17
0.24
 
18
3.88
76,022
 
9
0.82
 
20
3.21
327,441
 
21
-0.41
 
16
4.53
48,715
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
0.96
 
5.00
5,585,214
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.31
 
3.82
202,752,100
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_LSGL
 
   
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