WILMINGTON — Delaware saw another 400 people unemployed in March while its unemployment rate remained at 3.7%, according to state officials.
March’s job losses reflect a record in month-over-month unemployed workers that the state has not hit in the past four years, when the state lost 500 jobs in March 2021. This week, labor officials report that the unemployed rise was likely to drive the number up, as a quarter of those who are unemployed are first-time job seekers.
The Delaware Department of Labor also reported that the number of those re-entering the workforce has risen in the past year and represent another quarter of unemployed workers.
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 work, for a variety of reasons ranging from retirement to child care, they are no longer counted as being unemployed in the state.
Delaware’s labor force is now 506,600 people strong, reflecting the March job losses, as well as a net gain of 100 people from the previous report of adjusted numbers.
Delaware’s adjusted unemployment rate of 3.7%, relatively unchanged from the start of the year. There are 18,900 unemployed people in the state.
The gap between the national unemployment rate continues to widen by 50 basis points, as the national average rose for 4.2%. U.S. employers added 228,000 jobs last month – roughly twice the number added the previous month, despite economic headwinds and some of the results of the federal government’s large-scale layoffs.
National reports show that between February and March, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk signaled cuts of 280,000 federal workers. Delaware has seen little to no impact here at the few federal offices it has here, as the state reports that the federal government gained 100 new jobs, bringing the total to 6,800 jobs.
The state’s three counties saw differing rates of unemployment in January, with New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties reporting rates of 4%, 4.5% and 4.1%, 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 5.2% and 5.4% of workers were unemployed, respectively.
The largest monthly job gains came in the private education and health sector, which added 500 jobs in March. Retail services also added 400 jobs, while the state government added 300 jobs.
Job losses were led by leisure and hospitality at 400 jobs, followed by construction at 300 jobs and manufacturing at 200 jobs.
