A monthly report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia shows Delaware holding its own in economic performance.
The Tri-State Tracking report contains economic measurements for New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. The Philadelphia Fed’s territory includes the entire state of Delaware and portions of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Pennsylvania posted the weakest jobs with a seven-tenths of one percent gain, with Delaware and New Jersey coming in at 1.4 percent. Both measurements are below the national average of 2 percent.
It was a similar story with personal income, with New Jersey and Delaware coming up with a 4.4 percent gain and Pennsylvania lagging behind at 3.6 percent.
There has been concern that income growth in Delaware is becoming too dependent on transfer payments from Social Security, unemployment compensation and other sources.
Government cutbacks and economic downturns can affect income transfers and this year Social Security retirement benefits will see no cost of living increase.
The Tri-State figures showed transfer payments were up 5.7 percent in Delaware, compared to 3.6 percent in New Jersey and 2.5 percent.
Delaware did fare better than the nation as a whole when it came to building permit activity, a measurement of construction projects.
Home price growth remained below the national average and the unemployment rate is now running at the national figure. This marks a change from a long period when jobless rates were considerably lower in Delaware than for the nation as a whole.
The figures do not reflect recent news developments that include the loss of 1,700 jobs at DuPont Co. That led to credit rating agency Moody’s to issue a negative outlook for state, New Castle County and Wilmington debt issues.
