Delaware’s jobless rate dips to 4.7% as more people drop out of workforce

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Delaware’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in November fell to 4.7 percent, from  4.8 percent in October as the state saw more people drop out of the workforce.

The Delaware Department of Labor reported 22,200 unemployed Delawareans in November 2017 compared to 20,400 in November 2016.

The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in November 2017, unchanged from October 2017. In November 2016 the U.S. unemployment rate was 4.6 percent, while Delaware’s rate was 4.3 percent.

In November 2017, seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment was 454,100, down from 455,600 in October 2017. Since November 2016, Delaware’s total nonfarm jobs have increased by a net gain of 700, a rise of 0.2 percent. Nationally, jobs during that period increased 1.4 percent.

Delaware’s unemployment rate fell for the second consecutive month, but that was not due to more unemployed residents finding work, the Labor Department reported.

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 Rather, it appears to be the result of some no longer seeking work, for various reasons.

In the two months since the state’s unemployment rate was at its 2017 high of 4.9 percent, the number of unemployed residents has dropped by 1,200.

At the same me, the number of employed residents has declined by 900. The separate survey of employers in the state shows an even steeper decline of 3,000 jobs over those two months. While this survey has its ups and downs,  it shows much the same thing over the past two years – job growth that is not keeping up with the growth in working-age population.

The lack of job creation is not hitting all communities equally.

The CPS household survey breaks out three racial/ethnic groups: White, Black, and Hispanic

Over the past year, the unemployment rate for Whites has remained at 3.7 percent with the number unemployed falling by 200.

The unemployment rate for Hispanics dropped from 5 percent to 3.3 percent, with 900 fewer unemployed.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in the Black population rose from 6.1 percent to 8.2 percent, with an increase of 2,300 unemployed individuals.

 
 
 
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