Delaware unemployment continues to decrease, still above national average
DOVER — Keeping on trend, Delaware’s unemployment rate continued to decrease in the last half of the year.
The First State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.1% in …
You must be a member to read this story.
Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.
Already a member? Log in to continue. Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
Please log in to continue |
Delaware unemployment continues to decrease, still above national average
By DOVER — Keeping on trend, Delaware’s unemployment rate continued to decrease in the last half of the year.
The First State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.1% in November, according to data released by the Delaware Department of Labor in its monthly labor review.
That’s a 0.2% decrease from October’s rate of 5.3%.
After rising to a high of about 6.5% in March, Delaware’s unemployment rate has maintained a fairly steady downward trend.
Additionally, there were 25,200 unemployed Delawareans in November compared to 27,900 in November 2020.
While the unemployment rate is dropping, Delaware still has not caught up to the national average unemployment rate.
Delaware’s 5.1% rate in November was higher than the U.S. unemployment rate of 4.2%. In October 2021, the U.S. average unemployment rate was 4.6%.
Delaware’s unemployment rate fared better than the nation’s last year, however. In November 2020, the rate was 6.7% compared to Delaware’s 5.8%.
In November 2021, the seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment was 452,600, which was up from 451,500 in October 2021. Since November 2020, Delaware’s total nonfarm jobs have increased by a net gain of 10,800 — a rise of 2.4%.
Nationally, jobs during that period increased by 4.1%.
During the time period of March to November, the number of employed Delawareans increased by 7,400, the labor review states. The number of unemployed Delawareans also decreased by 6,500 from March to November, according to the labor review.
Sussex County continues to be the area with the lowest percentage of unemployment — though the rate is not seasonally adjusted. Sussex’s rate in November was 3.8%, a decrease from October when the rate was 4.1% and in November 2020 when it was 4.5%.
In Kent County, the unemployment rate was 4.5% in November, which is down from 5.2% in October. In November last year, the rate was 5.6%.
While New Castle County’s overall unemployment rate has fallen to 3.9% in November, in Wilmington, the rate was at 5.5%. Still, Wilmington’s rate is an improvement over October 2021 when it was 6.8% and November 2020 when it was 9.5%.
