The latest figures from the U. S. Department of Commerce show that investments by foreign companies doing business in New Jersey increased by 44 percent between 1990 and 1996, a rate of increase that is 16 percent better than the United States average.
International trade is a growth sector and a growth opportunity for New Jersey.
The latest figures show that foreign investment follows the broad diversity in the state's economy, covering a wide range of businesses. After those three countries, the leading investing regions include companies from the United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Canada, Latin America, the Middle-East and Australia. Foreign trade and investment have long been key elements of the state's economy, and play a greater role in New Jersey than in many other states according to Secretary Medina. Foreign companies doing business in the state account directly for 206,500 jobs, nearly 6 percent of all jobs in New Jersey. Nationally, the average for states is 4 percent.