The unemployment rate in the First State was down a tick last month.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in March was 3.9% - down from 4.0% in February, and exactly the same as March 2023.
The US unemployment rate last month was also down a tick at 3.8%, but that’s higher than a year ago when it was 3.5%.
Area unemployment rates varied, as New Castle County remained steady, but Wilmington and Sussex County were down in March. Newark, Kent County and Dover were all up. These rates are not seasonally adjusted.
Last month, there were 20,000 unemployed Delawareans compared to 19,500 in March of last year.
As for nonfarm jobs, last month saw an increase of 600 to 488,500, and since March 2023 there’s been a net gain of 5,000 or a 1% increase. That lags behind the national jobs growth rate of 1.9% during that period.
Over the last year, the Private Education and Health industries as well as government especially on the state and local levels are driving the job increases locally.
