Job growth in funeral service will be roughly equal to the overall national growth rate in employment over the next 10 years, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The bad news, however, is that there are fewer people working in the industry now than previously reported and any increase in employment is tempered by the prediction that new hires will not keep up with attrition.

A recent update to BLS figures on employment in funeral service shows that there are 1,400 fewer people working in the industry than in 2024, even though the bureau predicts a steady 4 percent increase in staff over the next 10 years.

In addition, despite an increase of approximately 2,200 workers by 2034, it is expected that 5,800 jobs will open yearly during the 10-year period. The openings are caused by retirements and people leaving the traditionally time-intensive profession.

That disparity between hiring and exiting employees was reflected in the bureau’s estimates. In 2024, BLS estimated there were 61,000 current funeral service workers, but the 2025 estimate indicated that only 59,600 people were employed, a marked difference in staffing.

The bureau laid the blame for some of the problems with funeral service employment on the increase in the number of families choosing cremation instead of traditional burials.

“This demand [for funeral service workers] will be constrained by consumers increasingly preferring cremation, which costs less and requires fewer workers than do traditional funeral arrangements,” the bureau said.

Nationally, approximately 61.8 deaths result in cremation, according to the Cremation Association of North America. That rate is expected to increase to 72.9 percent by 2034. In New Jersey, where the number of cremations is behind national figures, the rate is expected to increase to 69.3 percent in the next 10 years.

The rise in cremations also has affected the profitability of funeral homes, which can further restrict hiring. The difference between a typical full-service funeral and a cremation can reach $6,000, according to figures gathered for the 2025 New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association Biennial Statistical Pricing Survey. With more than 39,000 cremations held in 2024 in New Jersey, the pricing difference could range into the millions of dollars.

Exacerbating the problem is the dearth in qualified candidates to step into roles as full-time funeral directors. While the number enrollees in accredited funeral service education programs nationally are at near record levels, those actually graduating and entering the profession are well below what is needed to replace those leaving full-time employment.

Out of 2,016 graduates of accredited funeral service education programs in 2024, only 1,643 became employed in a funeral service-related profession, according to statistics gathered by the American Board of Funeral Service Education.

Green burials are becoming more popular at one of New York’s most venerable cemeteries. Two mortuaries and a funeral home have been closed in Ghana for operating without a license and environmental concerns. And Black veterans buried at a Virginia cemetery are finally being honored for their service. These stories and more are in the week in funeral news.

NEWS

Parish, Cemetery Lay 22 Cremated Remains to Rest as Part of “Gather Them Home”
By Gabriella Patti (Detroit Catholic)
Following a memorial Mass on November 8, 2025 at the Church of the Divine Child in Dearborn, MI, the cremains of 22 individuals were solemnly accompanied by their families to their final resting place at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, MI, in the All Souls Remembrance Room. The Mass and service were part of "Gather Them Home," an initiative of Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services' All Souls Remembrance Program, which offers to anyone at no charge the opportunity to inter the cremated remains of loved ones within consecrated ground. Read more here.

Green Burials Take Root in Brooklyn, NY
By Kaya Laterman (BK Reader)
Amid the concrete jungle, a growing number of New Yorkers are embracing green burials, a more sustainable alternative to traditional interments. Inquiries about placing the body directly in the earth, forgoing embalming and using biodegradable materials have increased so much at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery, staff there organized an hours-long seminar this fall that was packed with about 80 curious residents, death doulas and family members planning after-death care. Read more here.

Plan to Turn Popular Woods into Cemetery Approved
By Elliot Jessett (BBC News)
Plans to turn a popular woods in England into a cemetery with thousands of burial plots have been approved despite “1,500 objections,” campaigners against the development have said. Knowsley Council announced plans to buy part of Whiston Woods in Rainhill and turn it into a cemetery in 2023 as burial space at the nearby Knowsley cemetery on Fox Bank Lane was running out. Read more here.

Black Veterans’ Cemetery Was Overlooked in Ceremonies. How Fellow Vets Are Paying Tribute
By Julie Carey (News 4)
For the first time, Black veterans laid to rest at the Rose Hill Cemetery in Manassas, VA, are receiving special recognition this Veterans Day. The local Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion Post recently learned about the African American cemetery and the fact it had been overlooked in traditional ceremonies. Read more here.

Two Mortuaries and One Funeral Home in Ghana Closed for Violations
By Kingsley Adusei Amakye (3 News)
The Mortuary and Funeral Facilities Agency in Ghana has shut down three facilities in Greater Accra for operating without licenses and failing to meet environmental standards. Read more here.

Florida Man Allegedly Dumped Mother-of-Four’s Cremated Remains Alongside 500 Pounds of Trash on Roadside
By Zoe Hussain (New York Post)
A Florida man allegedly dumped a mother-of-four’s cremated remains and 500 pounds of trash on the side of a road late last month, according to reports. Daniel Rolando, 26, was arrested and charged with one felony count for littering more than 500 pounds of commercial or hazardous waste after Charlotte County Sheriff deputies discovered a massive pile of trash in Punta Gorda on October 30, 2025. Read more here.

Hospital Authority in Hong Kong Extends Free Mortuary Storage from Three to 28 Days Following Backlash over New Fees
By Hillary Leung (Hong Kong Free Press)
Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority has revised its plan to introduce charges for mortuary services in public hospitals following backlash, extending the free storage period from three to 28 days. Read more here.

The minimum hourly wage for most employees in New Jersey will increase by approximately 2.8 percent on January 1, 2026.

The new minimum wage will $15.92 per hour, a 43-cent increase from the current wage of $15.49, according to the state Department of Labor. Increases to New Jersey’s minimum wage are tied to federal Consumer Price Index, which is set through data provided to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A 2019 state law mandated an increase in the minimum wage to $15 hour, with subsequent yearly raises calculated through the CPI.

“This increase will provide vital support to all Garden State workers by making the dream of a livable wage reality,” Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo said in a press release.

Funeral homes are reminded that with the wage increase, a mandatory poster update is required to be posted by all employers. All New Jersey businesses with at least one employee on payroll must display an updated posting in their locations. The revision date should be 1/26.

Thanexus worksites will automatically receive updated posters in the new year.

The 2019 law established a gradual approach to increasing the minimum wage from what was then $8.85 an hour. The law changed the minimum wage to $10 an hour in 2019. It then increased $1 per year until 2024, when through CPI calculations it reached $15.13.

Employers who violate the minimum wage law face fines of “not less than $100 nor more than $1,000.” Subsequent violations can result in increased penalties and administrative fees.

A judge in Colorado has rejected another plea deal in the case of two funeral home owners accused of allowing approximately 190 bodies to pile up in their establishment and misleading consumers about the disposition of their family members’ remains.

Colorado State District Judge Eric Bentley refused to accept the plea of Carie Hallford who would have faced between 15 and 20 years in prison as part of the deal after family members objected to the sentence, calling it far too lenient, according to published reports.

“The sentence negotiated by the parties does not adequately account for the harms that these crimes have caused,” Bentley said, according to a PBS News article.

A plea deal for Carie Hallford husband, Jon Hallford, was rejected by Bentley in August 2025.

Jon and Carie Hallford were charged with scores of counts of abuse of corpse following the discovery of piles of human remains stacked in their Penrose-based Return to Nature Funeral Home in 2023.

An investigation found that the Hallfords sometimes returned dry concrete mix to family members instead of cremated remains.

The couple also both pleaded guilty to federal charges of wire fraud in October 2024 in connection with the fraudulent acquisition of Small Business Association loans designed to provide relief for businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

PBS reported that some families were seeking nearly 200 years in prison for Carie Hallford, one year for each body found in the funeral home.

“We are not asking for revenge, we are asking for acknowledgment, for the court to see each victim as the human being that they were,” Derrick Johnson told the court, according to PBS News. Johnson’s mother’s remains were among those in the funeral home.

The Hallfords’ case was cited as one of the reasons for an overhaul of Colorado’s funeral industry regulations, which were among the most lax in the country. Funeral directors in the state were not licensed, a fact that led some advocates to point out that, although the Hallfords faced criminal charges, there was little the state could do to sanction them as funeral directors.

The state in 2024 adopted a sweeping reform of funeral industry regulations, which called for the licensing of funeral directors, along with basic education and continuing education requirements.

Robert D'Amico, a member of the Monmouth and Ocean Funeral Directors Association, died on November 4, 2025. He was 54.

Born in Brooklyn, NY, Robert had a passion for funeral service from a young age, becoming a funeral director and eventually opening his own facility, Evergreen Memorial Funeral Home in Middletown, more than a decade ago. He counted the opening of Evergreen as one of his greatest accomplishments.

Robert had a variety of interests, talking up golf, billiards and racquetball, among other things.

He is survived by his wife, Valerie; his children, Leah and Robert; his parents Nancy and Dominick; and his brothers, Anthony and Dominick.

Rumpf

Our sincerest condolences to former Middlesex and Somerset Funeral Directors Association members Gail Rumpf Young and Gary Rumpf on the death of their mother, Margaret A. Rumpf, who died on November 1, 2025.

VanArsdale

Our sincerest condolences to the VanArsdale Family on the death of former Middlesex and Somerset Funeral Directors Association member Norman R. “Skip” VanArsdale, who died on October 25, 2025.