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Delaware’s unemployment rate was unchanged last month

Delaware’s unemployment rate remains steady in September.

The rate – which is seasonally adjusted – was 4.2% last month - unchanged from August, but a tick higher than the national rate and Delaware’s rate in last September which was 4.1%.

Area unemployment rates were all down in September from August, and were generally down from September 2023. Those rates are not seasonally adjusted.

Jobs numbers improved in September with seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment at 489,800 - up from 489,000 in August.

Since September 2023 nonfarm jobs have seen a net gain of 4,500 - a 0.9% increase compared to the 1.5% increase nationally.

There are negatives as Delaware’s seasonally adjusted labor force participation rate has continued an 11-month downward trend in September.

It tied April 2020 for the lowest recorded rate since record-keeping began in 1976 at 59.5 percent. The national rate was 62.7 percent.

The 3.2 percentage point difference is the largest monthly difference between the national and state rates since April 2010. The gap then was 3.4.

Joe brings over 20 years of experience in news and radio to Delaware Public Media and the All Things Considered host position. He joined DPM in November 2019 as a reporter and fill-in ATC host after six years as a reporter and anchor at commercial radio stations in New Castle and Sussex Counties.