Garden State loses 1,800 net jobs but unemployment rate falls slightly

In yet another sign that the unemployment rate is a totally meaningless statistic in the real world, New Jersey's unemployment rate fell slightly in October to 9.7 percent from September's 9.8 percent.

The interesting thing about this is that both employment and unemployment fell. The state shed 4,400 private sector jobs and gained 2,600 government jobs. Maybe my arithmetic skills are falling off with old age, but according to my calculations that adds up to a net loss of 1,800 jobs.