Delaware’s unemployment rate hits a high not seen since the COVID pandemic.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was at 5.2% in December up from 4.9% in November, and the highest it’s been since September 2021, the last time it reached the 5% level.
The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.4% in December.
Delaware’s seasonally adjusted number of unemployed workers in December increased by 8,300 compared to December 2024, which was an increase of 45% compared to the national increase of 8.4% in the same period.
This was the largest year over year increase since February 2021 when the increase was 11,600.
Meanwhile, area unemployment rates – which are not seasonally adjusted – were mostly lower. New Castle County, Wilmington, Middletown, Kent County, Dover and Sussex County were all down.
Only Newark was higher in December than in November.
And the state’s jobs numbers were once again higher as the seasonally adjusted nonfarm numbers hit 496,100 up from 494,300 in November.
The net increase from December 2024 is 5,400 - a 1.1% bump. That national growth rate in that same time period was 0.3%.
The Private Education and Health sector led the increase in Delaware over the last year with an increase of over 300 jobs, while Manufacturing jobs saw the sharpest decline, losing 600 since December 2024.
