There were 430,000 households on food stamps, a 3 percent decline from last summer.
TRENTON -- Reliance on food stamps dropped by 3 percent in New Jersey since last summer - six months after tougher rules took effect that required adults without children to work to receive their benefits, according to state data.
There were 430,000 households on food stamps or what has been renamed Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, a 3 percent decline from last summer, state Human Services data said. Salem, Somerset and Hunterdon counties saw the biggest caseload declines.
The drop in the program's enrollment was bigger nationally, at about 5 percent from June 2015 and June 2016, according to Yahoo News.
"Enrollment in SNAP has a natural churn. Any attempt to determine a reason would be pure speculation," Nicole Brossoie said, the spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services.
The disparity between New Jersey and the nation is likely linked to the fact that New Jersey's economic recovery has lagged behind other states, said Raymond Castro, a senior analyst with New Jersey Policy Perspective, a left-leaning research group.
"The recent Census data shows that there was no significant change in the state's poverty rate so there is still a great need for nutritional assistance, especially in the areas of the state with the highest unemployment," Castro said.
The shifting enrollment levels can be explained by the staggering impact of the recession and the unemployment rate. Enrollment surged in the food stamps program - - as the effects of the recession lingered for years.
In July 2008, there were 216,000 New Jersey households receiving SNAP benefits, compared to about 430,000 in July 2016.
As unemployment soared, the Obama administration set aside work requirements for childless adults. But as unemployment declined, the work requirements returned this year.
The Christie administration reinstated the work rules, affecting 11,000 people. But after the Legislature objected and passed a bill waiving the work rules for people from economically struggling counties and cities, Chris Christie compromised. In June, he signed a law that lets the state Human Services Commissioner to decide whether people from hard-hit communities should be required to work for benefits.
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The state's unemployment rate was 5.3 percent in August, compared to the 4.9 percent national rate.
"You cannot take away the fact that we saw these cuts . . and we have not recovered as other states have," said Adele Latourette, director of the Statewide Network Center for Food Action.
According to Deutsche Bank analyst Paul Trussell, the number of people on SNAP was down across the country by 5.2 percent, the biggest decline in the program's history.
New Jersey's decline in SNAP enrollment began in July 2015, when it inched downward 1 percent from July 2014, according to state data.
Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.