New Jersey added about 43,000 jobs in the private sector in 2017, about 18,000 less than 2016, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Monday.

But that's not necessarily good news.

"From 2014 to 2016 we had an upward trend in the number of jobs added in the private sector each year," said James Hughes, a faculty fellow at Rutgers University's John H. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development.

"That trend stopped in 2017," he said. "New Jersey is still lagging the nation."

The U.S. added about 2.1 million private sector jobs in 2017. And New Jersey makes up about 3 percent of the nation's job base, Hughes said.

So, in order to keep pace, New Jersey would have had to add close to 60,000 jobs in the same year, he said.

In 2013, New Jersey was still dealing with the aftershock from Hurricane Sandy, but in 2014 its job numbers started to improve, Hughes said.

New Jersey's recent stall in terms of job growth is similar to what the nation is experiencing.

The U.S. added about 3 million jobs in 2014, 2.7 million in 2015 and 2.2 million in 2016.

Hughes said the slowing is normal in periods of national economic expansion -- the unemployment rate is at its lowest its been in 17 years. And New Jersey's tapering is "not catastrophic", he emphasized.

Other reasons why the state continues to lag the nation include the exodus of the millennial generation to cities like New York. Its difficult for companies to hire talent if they are based in New Jersey, Hughes said.

"We are in the bottom fifth of states in terms of the number of jobs we've recovered. I guess its not much of a surprise that New Jersey is still playing catch up," said Gordon MacInnes, director of New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP), a left-leaning think tank.

"Even if we have done well in the previous two years we haven't done enough to be complacent," he said.

A point that is often overlooked: New Jersey is lagging the nation in part because the state still has a large portion of the population living in poverty, said Brandon McKoy, the director of NJPP's government and public affairs program.

"There is such a large portion of the state that doesn't have the means to provide for all their needs. And those are customers businesses are losing as a result of their wages being too low," he said.

Despite the decrease in the number of jobs added to the private sector, the state's 2017 unemployment rate was adjusted to an annual average of 4.6, down from 5.0 the previous year.

The bureau released the adjustments Monday as a part of its annual review and adjustment of previously released employment data. Each year it updates the previously reported monthly, sample-based survey estimates to full counts of employment.

Since August, the unemployment rate has stayed level at 4.7, according to the recently released data.

Another potential bright spot: New Jersey added 13,000 jobs in January -- a significant employment change from December, according to preliminary estimates by the bureau.

Erin Banco may be reached at ebanco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ErinBanco. Find NJ.com on Facebook.