"Our jobless rate, our unemployment rate, is the lowest of all of the big cities in New Jersey."
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Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage claims his city has lowest unemployment rate among large New Jersey cities
Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage knows what his critics will say during his re-election campaign: he's been in charge too long.
But Bollwage, a Democrat whose fifth term ends this year, has a few reasons voters should keep him in office.
"And we're moving in the right direction, the city of Elizabeth. We've done a lot of big things, with Ikea, Jersey Gardens, and we have opportunities here in our community. Our jobless rate, our unemployment rate, is the lowest of all of the big cities in New Jersey," Bollwage said during a Jan. 15 speech at the Cuban Club, drawing applause from his audience. "That's a great testament to our community."
You may want to hold back your applause, though, because the mayor is wrong.
A reader asked PolitiFact New Jersey to check out Bollwage’s claim. We found Elizabeth’s unemployment rate stands at 11.9 percent, according to the most recent data available from the state’s Labor Department. Newark’s and Paterson’s jobless rates are bleaker, at 14.1 percent and 15.4 percent, respectively.
But Jersey City -- the second most populous city in the state behind Newark -- has an unemployment rate of 10.2 percent.
So, among that group of cities with a population of more than 100,000, Elizabeth is third, not last.
City spokesman William Reyes said Bollwage meant to say Elizabeth has one of the lowest, not the lowest, unemployment rates among New Jersey’s most populous cities.
In his State of the City address, which Bollwage delivered before he gave the speech at the Cuban Club, the mayor got it right: "Our unemployment rate is among the lowest of New Jersey’s largest cities and we are looking to reduce that even more." A chart Reyes sent us that was shown during the mayor’s address compared the unemployment rates in Elizabeth, Trenton, Newark, Paterson and Camden.
Of those cities, Camden has the highest unemployment rate, at 18.8 percent, and Elizabeth had the lowest, at 11.9 percent. Jersey City wasn’t included.
Here’s a breakdown of the unemployment rates in New Jersey’s 15 most populous municipalities:
Population
City
Unemployment Rate: Nov. 2011
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Unemployment Rate: Nov. 2010
277140
Newark
14.1
14.5
247597
Jersey City
10.2
10.9
146199
Paterson
15.4
14.5
124969
Elizabeth
11.9
11.8
99967
Edison
7
6.8
99585
Woodbridge
7.9
8.6
92843
Lakewood
8.8
9.1
91239
Toms River
9.5
9.2
88464
Hamilton
7.4
Featured Fact-check
7.6
84913
Trenton
12.7
12.5
84136
Clifton
9.5
9.7
77344
Camden
18.8
18.9
75072
Brick
9.4
9.3
71045
Cherry Hill
6.9
6.9
69781
Passaic
12.6
11.6
*Sources: U.S. Census Bureau and New Jersey Labor Department
Our ruling
The Elizabeth mayor said in an appearance at the Cuban Club that the city has the lowest unemployment rate among New Jersey’s biggest cities.
Among cities with populations of 100,000 or more, Jersey City has a lower unemployment rate than Elizabeth.
A city spokesman said Bollwage meant to say Elizabeth had one of the lowest, not the lowest, jobless rates among the state’s most populous cities -- a line he used in his State of the City address earlier this month.
He may have got it right then, but he got it wrong this time around.
We rate the statement False.
To comment on this ruling, go to NJ.com.
Our Sources
YouTube Channel of ElizabethNJHappens, Mayor Chris Bollwage Speaks at The Cuban Club, Jan. 15, 2012
New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, 2011 Labor Force Estimates for Municipalities with populations of 25,000 or more, accessed Jan. 16, 2012
New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Labor Force Estimates, accessed Jan. 16, 2012
U.S. Census Bureau: American Fact Finder, 2010 Census Redistricting Data: New Jersey, accessed Jan. 18, 2012
PolitiFact New Jersey, Spreadsheet of New Jersey’s most populous cities and unemployment rates, created Jan. 18, 2012
Email and phone interview with William Reyes, spokesman for Elizabeth city, Jan. 19, 2012
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Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage claims his city has lowest unemployment rate among large New Jersey cities
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