Department of Labor

Department of Labor anchors a workforce of 3,379 employees, one of the biggest payrolls in state government.

The most common title is Senior Unemployment Insurance Clerk (6% of staff), followed by Claims Examiner Unemployment & Disability Insurance and Intermittent Labor Clerk. Median pay is $78,268, about 8% below the statewide median.

Median tenure is 9.9 years. CWA represents the largest share of its unionized workforce (about 83%).

About Department of Labor

The Department of Labor and Workforce Development runs unemployment insurance and temporary disability insurance, enforces wage and hour law, delivers workforce training through the One-Stop system, and operates the state's vocational rehabilitation program.

The benefit programs set the shape of the roster. Unemployment insurance clerks and claims examiners process the claims, and claims adjudicators handle the disability determinations that follow. Interviewers and employment services trainees staff the workforce side, where the trainee grade is a normal way in. Vocational rehabilitation counselors work with claimants returning to employment. This is one of the most heavily CWA-represented departments in the state.

Who works here

These are the titles that carry the most people on this payroll. Each one links to its civil service specification, which sets out the duties, the minimum requirements and the salary range.

• Senior Unemployment Insurance Clerk209 employees
  6.2% of staff · median $61,225 · CWA
• Claims Examiner Unemployment & Disability Insurance188 employees
  5.6% of staff · median $66,038 · CWA
• Intermittent Labor Clerk130 employees
  3.8% of staff · CWA
• Employment Services Trainee95 employees
  2.8% of staff · median $53,807 · CWA
• Claims Adjudicator Disability Determinations94 employees
  2.8% of staff · median $67,170 · CWA
• Senior Claims Adjudicator Disability Determinations90 employees
  2.7% of staff · median $103,187 · CWA
• Interviewer86 employees
  2.5% of staff · median $63,592 · CWA
• Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor 278 employees
  2.3% of staff · median $94,998 · CWA
• Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor 160 employees
  1.8% of staff · median $67,170 · CWA
• Administrative Analyst 357 employees
  1.7% of staff · median $103,509 · CWA
• Administrative Analyst 456 employees
  1.7% of staff · median $123,437 · CWA
• Examiner Unemployment Tax56 employees
  1.7% of staff · median $61,382 · CWA

At least 100 distinct titles appear on this agency's payroll. The 12 largest are listed above.

Titles you will not find elsewhere

49 of this agency's titles are concentrated here rather than shared across departments, and for 47 of them every single position in the state sits on this payroll.

• Senior Unemployment Insurance Clerkall 209 statewide
  only at this agency
• Claims Examiner Unemployment & Disability Insuranceall 188 statewide
  only at this agency
• Intermittent Labor Clerkall 130 statewide
  only at this agency
• Employment Services Traineeall 95 statewide
  only at this agency
• Claims Adjudicator Disability Determinationsall 94 statewide
  only at this agency
• Senior Claims Adjudicator Disability Determinationsall 90 statewide
  only at this agency
• Interviewerall 86 statewide
  only at this agency
• Examiner Unemployment Taxall 56 statewide
  only at this agency

Concentration is measured against the same payroll file, comparing this agency's headcount in a title with the statewide headcount in that title.

How pay is spread

Below are the quartile boundaries for this agency's salaries, with the statewide equivalents alongside them for reference.

The middle half of this agency's employees earn between $62,340 and $103,187, a ratio of 1.66 between the two quartiles. State government as a whole sits at 1.81, so this agency's pay is bunched more tightly than average, which tends to happen where one or two large titles carry most of the staff.

• Lowest recorded salary$39,681
• Lower quartile$62,340
  statewide $62,428
• Median salary$78,268
  statewide $84,796
• Upper quartile$103,187
  statewide $113,264
• Highest recorded salary$165,313

Based on 2,959 salaried records, with 100 statistical outliers excluded from the quartile calculation.

Union representation

Which contract covers a job decides its salary schedule, its step ladder and its grievance route. This is the union mix on this payroll.

• CWA2,813 employees
  83.2% of the agency
• IBEW103 employees
  3.0% of the agency
• IFPTE42 employees
  1.2% of the agency
• AFSCME3 employees
  0.1% of the agency

Union coverage is identifiable for 88% of this agency's payroll records. The remainder are unclassified, exempt or managerial positions that sit outside a bargaining unit.

How long people stay

Tenure tells you something a salary table cannot: whether this is a place people arrive at or a place they stay.

Half of this agency's employees have been on the state payroll longer than 9.9 years, essentially the statewide figure of 9.6. 34% joined within the last five years, and 30% have twenty years or more behind them.

• Under 5 years1,101 employees
  34.2% of those with a hire date
• 5 to 10 years512 employees
  15.9% of those with a hire date
• 10 to 15 years349 employees
  10.8% of those with a hire date
• 15 to 20 years286 employees
  8.9% of those with a hire date
• 20 to 25 years498 employees
  15.5% of those with a hire date
• 25 years or more477 employees
  14.8% of those with a hire date

Hire dates are present for 3,223 of this agency's 3,379 payroll records.

Overtime

864 employees here recorded overtime, 25.6% of the agency, against 31.6% across state government. Little overtime usually means salaried professional work with no shift to fill.

Together they were paid $4,385,274 in overtime, averaging $5,076 for each employee who earned any. Overtime is not part of the salary figures elsewhere on this page, which report base pay.

• Employees with recorded overtime864
• Share of the agency25.6%
• Total overtime paid$4,385,274
• Average per employee earning it$5,076

Civil service coverage

90% of this agency's payroll records carry a title that matches a published civil service specification. The rest are unclassified, exempt or agency-specific positions filled outside the competitive examination process, so the standard exam and eligible list route covers most but not all of the jobs here.

• Records matched to a specification3,027
• Records with no matching specification352
• Distinct civil service titles on the roster100 or more

Where it sits among state agencies

By headcount this is the 10th largest of the 39 payroll lines in New Jersey state government, holding 4.5% of the state workforce.

Its nearest neighbours by headcount, for readers who want a like-for-like comparison.

• Department of Transportation3,850 employees
  median $76,982
• Department of Treasury3,802 employees
  median $82,173
• Motor Vehicle Commission2,898 employees
  median $66,142
• Veterans Affairs1,599 employees
  median $59,678

Study guides for this exam

• Civil Service Arithmetic National Learning Corporation · $39.94
• Civil Service Grammar and Usage National Learning Corporation · $34.95
• Civil Service Administration, Management and Supervision National Learning Corporation · $55.95
• Clerical, Office & Administrative Support Positions (COAST) (Career Examination) National Learning Corporation · $39.95
• Logical Reasoning National Learning Corporation · $29.95
• In-Basket Examination National Learning Corporation · $49.95
• GRAPHS, CHARTS AND TABLES (Tabular Material) National Learning Corporation · $39.94
• Abstract Reasoning / Spatial Relations National Learning Corporation · $49.95
• CIVIL SERVICE READING COMPREHENSION (General Aptitude and Abilities Series) (Passbooks) National Learning Corporation · $39.95 · general prep, not specific to this title

The Civil Service Commission does not publish official study guides or release past tests. These are independent equivalency guides.

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