Delaware’s unemployment rate in May remains the same.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate last month remained unchanged from April at 3.9%, but it was a tick higher than the 3.8% in May 2023.
It was still lower than the national number of 4%.
Area unemployment rates in Delaware – which are not seasonally adjusted – were mostly higher last month with the exception of Sussex County which stayed the same.
There were 500 more unemployed Delawareans in May 2024 compared to May 2023 with last month’s number at 19,900.
Seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs were down about 800 in May from April, but there’s been a net gain of 5,400 since May 2023 - a 1.1% increase.
That lags behind the national increase of 1.8%.
Two industry sectors pushing Delaware’s gain over the year are Private Education and Health Services and Government which increased by 2,500 and 2,300 jobs.
Local Government drove the increase in Government jobs growing by 1,200 while State Government was up 800.
The largest decline in over-the-year jobs was in the Professional and Business Services industry sector, which saw a decrease of 1,200.
That decrease was driven by the Employment Services subsector which lost 1,500 jobs.
