DOING BUSINESS IN NEW JERSEY

The View From New Jersey: Governor Phil Murphy

New Jersey has “unleashed historic economic progress,” according to Governor Phil Murphy.

“Since the last administration, we have more than doubled the growth rate of our state’s economy. And, at the same time, we have created nearly 200,000 jobs,” Gov. Murphy said in his 2024 State of the State Address. “Jobs that pay well. Jobs that support a family. Jobs that give people the confidence that they can make their future in the Garden State.”

The governor has invested in the state’s economy with several tax credits and created new industries, including adult-use cannabis, film production, and offshore wind production. Plus, the film industry has brought more than $650 million to New Jersey and created roughly 8,500 jobs, according to the governor’s office.

Business Facilities: Please tell us about the business climate in New Jersey now. What is driving its success?

Gov. Murphy: There’s no better measure of our success than CNBC recently naming New Jersey the most-improved state in America for business. This achievement is the result of our strategic vision to both bolster existing industries and build new ones from whole cloth, all while cutting taxes, investing in our world-class education system, and developing targeted business incentive and assistance programs. As a result, we’ve created the most improved climate for job growth, recorded seven straight credit rating upgrades from Wall Street, and have one of the strongest housing markets in the nation. Our location, coupled with our infrastructure, and highly skilled workforce, creates tremendous value for businesses while our unparalleled quality of life makes New Jersey the best state to raise a family.

BF: What are the growth sectors in New Jersey right now? What is the state doing to foster these industries? Would you highlight a few “hot spots” for economic development in 2024?

Gov. Murphy: We are being highly strategic about investing in the industries of tomorrow in order to generate the jobs of the future. In just about every category, New Jersey is paving the way forward because innovation is both our heritage and our future.

Strategic investments in offshore wind and solar development, which will produce tens of thousands of good-paying, family-sustaining jobs, are just one example of how we are creating economic opportunities through innovation.

Our second-to-none film tax incentive program is establishing New Jersey as one of the top film-producing states in the country, with dozens of existing professional-grade production studios and several new, major studio production facilities poised to come to life soon, including Lionsgate in Newark and Netflix at Fort Monmouth . These projects will create thousands of good-paying union jobs, generate hundreds of millions of dollars in economic investments, and provide a boon to local businesses in and around these new studios and location shoots…

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