Department of Labor

Department of Labor anchors a workforce of 3,249 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 $77,144, about 9% below the statewide median.

Median tenure is 10.0 years. CWA represents the largest share of its unionized workforce (about 85%).

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 Clerk207 employees
  6.4% of staff · median $61,225 · CWA
• Claims Examiner Unemployment & Disability Insurance191 employees
  5.9% of staff · median $66,038 · CWA
• Intermittent Labor Clerk118 employees
  3.6% of staff · CWA
• Interviewer95 employees
  2.9% of staff · median $63,592 · CWA
• Claims Adjudicator Disability Determinations94 employees
  2.9% of staff · median $67,170 · CWA
• Senior Claims Adjudicator Disability Determinations90 employees
  2.8% of staff · median $103,187 · CWA
• Employment Services Trainee80 employees
  2.5% of staff · median $53,807 · CWA
• Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor 279 employees
  2.4% of staff · median $93,360 · CWA
• Administrative Analyst 456 employees
  1.7% of staff · median $123,437 · CWA
• Administrative Analyst 355 employees
  1.7% of staff · median $103,509 · CWA
• Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor 155 employees
  1.7% of staff · median $64,340 · CWA
• Examiner Unemployment Tax54 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 207 statewide
  only at this agency
• Claims Examiner Unemployment & Disability Insuranceall 191 statewide
  only at this agency
• Intermittent Labor Clerkall 118 statewide
  only at this agency
• Interviewerall 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
• Employment Services Traineeall 80 statewide
  only at this agency
• Examiner Unemployment Taxall 54 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 $61,860 and $103,187, a ratio of 1.67 between the two quartiles. State government as a whole sits at 1.80, 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$61,860
  statewide $62,428
• Median salary$77,144
  statewide $84,548
• Upper quartile$103,187
  statewide $112,646
• Highest recorded salary$161,785

Based on 2,915 salaried records, with 126 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.

• CWA2,761 employees
  85.0% of the agency
• IBEW99 employees
  3.0% of the agency
• IFPTE42 employees
  1.3% of the agency
• AFSCME3 employees
  0.1% of the agency

Union coverage is identifiable for 89% 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 10.0 years, essentially the statewide figure of 9.6. 33% joined within the last five years, and 31% have twenty years or more behind them.

• Under 5 years1,051 employees
  33.2% of those with a hire date
• 5 to 10 years510 employees
  16.1% of those with a hire date
• 10 to 15 years329 employees
  10.4% of those with a hire date
• 15 to 20 years281 employees
  8.9% of those with a hire date
• 20 to 25 years514 employees
  16.3% of those with a hire date
• 25 years or more476 employees
  15.1% of those with a hire date

Hire dates are present for 3,161 of this agency's 3,249 payroll records.

Overtime

792 employees here recorded overtime, 24.4% of the agency, against 29.6% across state government. Little overtime usually means salaried professional work with no shift to fill.

Together they were paid $2,374,756 in overtime, averaging $2,998 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 overtime792
• Share of the agency24.4%
• Total overtime paid$2,374,756
• Average per employee earning it$2,998

Civil service coverage

92% of this agency's payroll records carry a title that matches a published civil service specification. That is a high match rate, and it means the hiring routes described elsewhere on this site apply to most jobs here: an announced examination, an eligible list, and appointment from that list.

• Records matched to a specification2,975
• Records with no matching specification274
• 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 4.4% of the state workforce.

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

• Department of Transportation3,805 employees
  median $76,834
• Department of Treasury3,666 employees
  median $82,173
• Motor Vehicle Commission2,850 employees
  median $66,142
• Veterans Affairs1,559 employees
  median $58,818

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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