A financial giant and two biotech firms could lay off up to a total of 223 employees in North Jersey this fall and winter, according to September filings with the New Jersey Department of Labor.

The layoffs involve Prudential Financial, BioReference Health and Spectra Labs.

Those layoffs are happening against the broader picture of a weak jobs reports ; 5% unemployment in New Jersey for the first time in over three years; President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs ; and Trump’s pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, drastically fluctuating markets .

Also at play is the rapid onset of artificial intelligence, replacing some white-collar workers; the governor’s race in New Jersey; and the potential economic fallout from Trump’s sweeping tax cuts

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