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Delaware unemployment dips under national rate again

November 15, 2024 |By Katie Tabeling

Delaware’s unemployment rate has dropped yet again to 4% in October while simultaneously losing 1,400 jobs that month, according to state officials. | PHOTO COURTESY OF ADOBE STOCK

DOVER — Delaware’s unemployment rate has dropped yet again to 4% in October while simultaneously losing 1,400 jobs that month, according to state officials. October’s job losses are the most the state has seen in 2024, beating out the record set in August when the Department of Labor reported 1,000 jobs had been shed. At

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DOVER — Delaware’s unemployment rate has dropped yet again to 4% in October while simultaneously losing 1,400 jobs that month, according to state officials. October’s job losses are the most the state has seen in 2024, beating out the record set in August when the Department of Labor reported 1,000 jobs had been shed. At the same time, Delaware’s labor force also lost 800 job seekers, according to the monthly labor report released Friday morning. The First State now has a total labor force of 504,000 people, marking a second month of decline since August. The labor force captures not only workers and those receiving unemployment benefits, but also those in search of work who aren’t receiving assistance. As workers stop seeking employment roles for a variety of reasons, ranging from retirement to child care needs, they are no longer counted as being unemployed in the state. Delaware’s unemployment rate for October had dropped just below the national average which fell 10 basis points to 4.1% last month. Delaware recorded a drop to 20,200 unemployed people overall, while the state saw no movement month-to-month on the number of people with jobs. The state reports that 483,000 people are employed. State labor officials have reported that since October 2023, the state had added 2,600 jobs, showing the ebb and flow of the hiring business in the state. Wages had also slightly increased during that time. Last month, the average weekly earnings were $1,026.03 as of last month, a $7.28 increase from October 2023. Delaware’s three counties saw differing rates of unemployment last month, with New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties reporting rates of 3.3%, 3.8% and 3.2%, respectively – although those statistics aren’t seasonally adjusted. Wilmington and Dover, the state’s two most populous cities, have seen an even greater impact in job losses, where 5.4% and 4.7% of workers were unemployed, respectively. The largest monthly job gains came in the construction sector, which added 500 jobs in October. Information services also added 100 jobs. Leading job losses were professional and business services at 1,100 jobs. The financial activities sector also lost 600 jobs, while leisure and hospitality sectors lost 200 jobs.