Robert Asaro-Angelo
New Jersey Commissioner of Labor, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development
Robert Asaro-Angelo (Uh-SAR-oh ANN-juh-lo) was nominated by Governor Phil Murphy to serve as the Commissioner of the NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development in January 2018.
As Commissioner, Asaro-Angelo is proud to oversee the state’s diverse services to New Jersey workers. Due in part to the innovation he has spearheaded in New Jersey, in February, 2021, Asaro-Angelo was chosen by his counterparts across the nation as the Board Chair of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) for the 2021 association year.
In recent years, Congress has called upon the Commissioner multiple times to testify about labor-related topics, including the state’s innovative efforts to develop apprenticeship programs, increase access to paid family and medical leave, and combat unemployment insurance fraud.
From 2010 – 2017, Asaro-Angelo served as Eastern Regional Representative for the U.S. Department of Labor under the Obama Administration, managing the department’s regional activities and coordinating federal initiatives on the regional, state, and local levels.
Prior to his government service, Commissioner Asaro-Angelo worked for the Laborers International Union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Service Employees International Union Local 1115 organizing and educating public employees, construction workers and nursing home employees about government and politics.
Asaro-Angelo earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from Boston University and a master’s in Public Policy from the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University.
A proud, life-long New Jerseyan, he lives in Middlesex County with his family.
