New Jersey

As goes the New Jersey governor’s race, so goes its open space.

New Jersey’s unemployment rate reached 9.8% in September, up from 9.6% in August, as officials estimate that the state lost roughly 12,700 nonfarm wage and salary employment positions.

New Jersey’s Treasury Department yesterday announced that tax collections came in $190 million below prior estimates for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 — 3.1% lower than expected. Officials identified $205 million of immediate spending cuts to offset lagging receipts.

Standard & Poor’s yesterday dropped New Jersey’s largest health care provider, Saint Barnabas Health Care System to BB-plus from BBB-minus, affecting more than $800 million of outstanding debt. The outlook is negative.

New Jersey’s Treasury Department Tuesday announced that it would again renew its pool of 13 financial advisers for an additional one-year term.