NEW YORK, NY February 28, 2008 —The latest statistics from the state's Labor Department are an indication the economy is slowing down faster than expected. WNYC’s Bob Hennelly reports.

State labor officials say 2007 was not nearly as good for job creation as they initially thought and that last month, New Jersey actually lost 10,000 jobs. Just 300 pink slips went out in the public sector, while manufacturing, finance and retail sectors lost thousands of jobs.

During his budget address this week, Governor Jon Corzine's described the current economic climate as a gathering national recession. The latest labor trends were factored into his proposed budget which aims to cut three thousand jobs from the state work force.

For WNYC, I'm Bob Hennelly.