Delaware’s jobless rate continues to rise.
Unemployment in the First State was up again in August according to the state’s Department of Labor.
It moved up another tenth of a percent from 4.8 to 4.9 percent, keeping it a half percent higher that the national unemployment rate, which moved to 4.4 percent in August.
The number of unemployed Delawareans hit 23,500 last month. That’s up from 22,900 in July.
But the state is adding jobs. Delaware had 1,000 more non-farm jobs in August than in July and has added 3,200 since this time last year.
The Department of Labor in its analysis of the job numbers says it is possible the upward trend in unemployment is just "statistical noise." It says there is recent precedent for that possibility, noting that both 2014 and 2015, Delaware’s unemployment rate rose above the national rate, only to later be revised back down below it. And some of the 2014 monthly revisions were a full percentage point.
Non-seasonally adjusted jobless rates in all of Delaware’s major cities and counties rose slightly or remained steady in August. The biggest jump came in Wilmington which was up from 7.5 to 7.9 percent.
