The latest national unemployment statistics reveal the highest jobless rate in nearly 16 years. While the unemployment rate in New Jersey is slightly less than the national number, it?s expected to go even higher.

Nationally, the unemployment rate jumped to 7.2 percent in December. In New Jersey, it?s 6.1 percent. Statewide, employers shed 6,200 jobs in November and in December, 162,000 state residents claimed unemployment benefits. That number is up 50,000 from a year ago.

For those still collecting a paycheck, the possibility of getting laid off has become increasingly real over the last several months.

"Everybody's hiding at work because they don't want to be seen,? worker Colleen Kirse says. ?Because if they see you, you're the next to go."

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development says the state?s jobless rate has been trending up, just like the national rate. Nearly 2 million of the 2.6 million jobs lost in 2008 were cut in the last quarter of the year, which means 2009 is getting off to a rocky start.

Department of Labor and Workforce Development Bureau of Labor Statistics