A Targeted Employment Area (TEA) is defined as: A rural or non‐rural area that has experienced a high unemployment rate of at least 150 percent of the national average unemployment rate during a comparable 12‐month period.
New Jersey does not have any rural areas that are both outside of a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and outside a city or town with a population of 20,000 or more. MSAs are designated by the Office of Management and Budget. At http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/maps/nj/04000us34m.pdf you can see a map of MSAs that include parts of New Jersey.
Any area designated as a TEA in New Jersey must include an area with a calendar year 2012 unemployment rate that is 150 percent or higher than the national average unemployment rate (8.1%) for the same time period. Presently, the minimum unemployment rate of 12.2 percent is necessary for an area to qualify as a TEA. The following areas meet these criteria based on 2012 annual average data:
| Area | Labor Force | Employment | Unemployment | Unemployment Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *County: | ||||
| Atlantic County | 136,125 | 117,748 | 18,377 | 13.5 |
| Cape May County | 58,190 | 50,397 | 7,793 | 13.4 |
| Cumberland County | 69,538 | 59,714 | 9,824 | 14.1 |
| Municipality: | ||||
| Alpha borough | 1,458 | 1,275 | 183 | 12.5 |
| Andover borough | 499 | 438 | 61 | 12.2 |
| Asbury Park city | 7,910 | 6,291 | 1,619 | 20.5 |
| Beach Haven borough | 671 | 564 | 107 | 15.9 |
| Berkeley township | 13,471 | 11,372 | 2,099 | 15.6 |
| Beverly city | 1,715 | 1,366 | 349 | 20.3 |
| Bogota borough | 5,085 | 4,362 | 722 | 14.2 |
| Boonton town | 5,405 | 4,713 | 692 | 12.8 |
| Bradley Beach borough | 2,933 | 2,561 | 372 | 12.7 |
| Branchville borough | 488 | 428 | 61 | 12.5 |
| Burlington city | 5,931 | 5,146 | 785 | 13.2 |
| Camden city | 27,407 | 22,343 | 5,064 | 18.5 |
| Carneys Point township | 3,778 | 3,214 | 564 | 14.9 |
| Carteret borough | 11,406 | 9,736 | 1,669 | 14.6 |
| Chesilhurst borough | 717 | 604 | 113 | 15.8 |
| City of Orange township | 14,309 | 12,557 | 1,752 | 12.2 |
| Clementon borough | 3,006 | 2,486 | 520 | 17.3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delanco township | 2,072 | 1,781 | 291 | 14.0 |
| Dover town | 11,110 | 9,248 | 1,863 | 16.8 |
| Dunellen borough | 4,315 | 3,766 | 549 | 12.7 |
| East Orange city | 29,080 | 25,193 | 3,887 | 13.4 |
| Elizabeth city | 56,894 | 49,575 | 7,319 | 12.9 |
| Fairview borough | 6,767 | 5,765 | 1,002 | 14.8 |
| Fieldsboro borough | 375 | 317 | 58 | 15.5 |
| Florence township | 6,722 | 5,878 | 843 | 12.5 |
| Franklin township (Gloucester County) | 9,773 | 8,534 | 1,238 | 12.7 |
| Freehold borough | 6,252 | 5,464 | 788 | 12.6 |
| Garfield city | 16,944 | 14,696 | 2,248 | 13.3 |
| Gloucester City city | 6,038 | 5,043 | 995 | 16.5 |
| Haledon borough | 4,919 | 4,101 | 818 | 16.6 |
| Harrison town | 7,474 | 6,565 | 909 | 12.2 |
| Hillside township | 12,707 | 10,820 | 1,887 | 14.8 |
| Hi‐Nella borough | 616 | 503 | 113 | 18.3 |
| Irvington township | 26,496 | 23,084 | 3,412 | 12.9 |
| Keansburg borough | 5,662 | 4,809 | 853 | 15.1 |
| Lakehurst borough | 1,430 | 1,217 | 213 | 14.9 |
| Lawnside borough | 1,494 | 1,268 | 226 | 15.1 |
| Lebanon borough | 765 | 671 | 94 | 12.3 |
| Lebanon township | 3,689 | 3,218 | 472 | 12.8 |
| Lindenwold borough | 10,667 | 8,948 | 1,719 | 16.1 |
| Loch Arbour village | 173 | 151 | 22 | 12.6 |
| Magnolia borough | 2,747 | 2,295 | 452 | 16.5 |
| Manchester township | 12,567 | 10,745 | 1,822 | 14.5 |
| Milford borough | 734 | 639 | 94 | 12.9 |
| Montague township | 1,921 | 1,616 | 305 | 15.9 |
| Mount Holly township | 6,117 | 5,245 | 872 | 14.3 |
| Newark city | 108,176 | 91,911 | 16,265 | 15.0 |
| Ocean township (Ocean County) | 3,780 | 3,274 | 506 | 13.4 |
| Oxford township | 1,431 | 1,222 | 209 | 14.6 |
| Passaic city | 30,000 | 26,027 | 3,973 | 13.2 |
| Paterson city | 60,839 | 50,821 | 10,018 | 16.5 |
| Paulsboro borough | 3,857 | 2,969 | 888 | 23.0 |
| Penns Grove borough | 2,361 | 1,741 | 620 | 26.3 |
| Perth Amboy city | 24,197 | 20,449 | 3,748 | 15.5 |
| Phillipsburg town | 8,483 | 7,385 | 1,098 | 12.9 |
| Pine Hill borough | 6,318 | 5,526 | 791 | 12.5 |
| Prospect Park borough | 3,161 | 2,713 | 449 | 14.2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roselle borough | 12,121 | 10,423 | 1,698 | 14.0 |
| Runnemede borough | 4,778 | 4,167 | 611 | 12.8 |
| Salem city | 2,269 | 1,875 | 395 | 17.4 |
| Seaside Heights borough | 1,859 | 1,593 | 266 | 14.3 |
| Seaside Park borough | 1,381 | 1,195 | 187 | 13.5 |
| Ship Bottom borough | 852 | 719 | 133 | 15.6 |
| Shrewsbury township | 765 | 655 | 109 | 14.3 |
| South Bound Brook borough | 2,857 | 2,491 | 367 | 12.8 |
| South Toms River borough | 2,176 | 1,803 | 373 | 17.1 |
| Trenton city | 40,827 | 35,700 | 5,127 | 12.6 |
| Tuckerton borough | 1,985 | 1,692 | 293 | 14.8 |
| Union City city | 29,372 | 25,453 | 3,919 | 13.3 |
| Wallington borough | 6,893 | 6,031 | 862 | 12.5 |
| Washington township (Burlington County) | 204 | 175 | 29 | 14.3 |
| Wharton borough | 3,892 | 3,306 | 585 | 15.0 |
| Willingboro township | 16,503 | 14,467 | 2,036 | 12.3 |
| Winfield township | 905 | 763 | 141 | 15.6 |
| Woodlynne borough | 1,439 | 1,258 | 181 | 12.6 |
| Wrightstown borough | 430 | 371 | 58 | 13.5 |
| * ‐All municipalities within the three counties listed are designated as TEAs. | ||||
An alien entrepreneur seeking to do business in areas of high unemployment may choose, along with the petition, to include a letter from NJLWD which certifies that the commercial enterprise is or will be located in a "targeted employment area." This letter may be obtained by writing to the Local Area Unemployment Statistics Section, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJLWD), Division of Labor Market and Demographic Research,
P.O. Box 383, Trenton NJ 08625‐0383, by e‐mailing: Roseanne.Elcenko@dol.state.nj.us, or by calling 609.777.2193.
For investment in any of the qualified areas listed above, a letter indicating the area is a TEA will be sent to the individual requesting the designation.
If the area of investment is not on the list above, NJLWD can perform a special tabulation for the area in question utilizing calendar year 2012 and the most recent 12 months of data for the area. This tabulation will be performed in accordance with BLS approved methodology for Local Area Unemployment Statistics data. NJLWD cannot guarantee that the area will meet the criteria of a TEA.
Please contact Roseanne Elcenko via telephone (609) 777‐2193 or via email Roseanne.Elcenko@dol.state.nj.us for more information on special tabulations.
Please note: While the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development indicates that an area meets the qualifying rate, the final designation as a Targeted Employment Area will be made by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
More information about the EB‐5 Investor Visa Program can be found on the USCIS website (www.uscis.gov).
Source: New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Labor Market Information, Local Area Unemployment Statistics.
(Updated April 2013)