Delaware’s unemployment dips slightly in December

By Logan B. Anderson
Posted 1/23/22

DOVER — Delaware ended 2021 with a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate close to pre-pandemic levels. According to the state Department of Labor’s monthly labor report, published on Jan. …

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Delaware’s unemployment dips slightly in December

Posted

DOVER — Delaware ended 2021 with a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate close to pre-pandemic levels. According to the state Department of Labor’s monthly labor report, published on Jan. 21, Delaware’s unemployment rate decreased by one-tenth of a percent to 5% in December.

The last time Delaware’s unemployment rate was at or below 5% was March 2020 when the unemployment rate was 4.8%.

The First State finished the year with 11,900 more jobs than one year ago.

Last month, the leisure and hospitality industry, hard hit by the pandemic, ended 2021 with 5,800 more jobs than it had a year ago. Wholesale and retail trade, along with the construction industry, increased by 2,300 jobs, according to the Delaware Labor Department’s monthly report.

Last year, Delaware’s unemployment rate peaked at 6.5% in March. Then labor watchers saw the rate start to fall. The trend continued through December, ending at 5%.

Though falling, Delaware’s unemployment percentage is still higher than the national average of 3.9%.

Within the state, Dover has the highest rate of unemployment at 6%. Wilmington is next at 5.7%. Sussex County has an overall unemployment rate of 4.2%. Newark has the lowest unemployment rate at 3.2%, according to the labor department’s figures.

There were 24,600 unemployed Delawareans in December compared to 28,200 in 2020.

Delaware’s seasonally adjusted non-farm employment workforce was measured at 453,500 people. That number made a slight jump from November’s 452,200 total. Since December 2020, Delaware’s total non-farm jobs have increased by a rise of 2.7%. Nationally, jobs during that period increased 4.6%.

While the Delaware Department of Labor’s monthly report doesn’t track the reason jobs become open, in a report by ChamberofCommerce.org, released on Jan. 19, job openings in the state may be coming from people quitting their jobs looking for something better.

“According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, quits totaled 4.5 million (in the U.S.) in November, a record high, and have been trending upward since April 2020. The quit rate — defined as the number of quits as a percentage of total employment — rose to 3% in November, tying September’s record,” said Mike LaFirenza, spokesman for the group.

ChamberofCommerce.org tracks business statistics and provides information about starting or growing a small business.

It did an analysis of every state and ranked them by the percentage of their workforces that resigned in 2021.

Delaware ranked 20. According to the group’s spokesman, Delaware’s overall quit rate reached 3% in 2021, Delaware saw 134,000 jobs open because someone resigned last year.

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