Delaware saw a slight drop in its seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in April. The 6.8 percent figure was down from 6.9 percent in March 2012, according to a report from the Delaware Department of Labor. The state continued to see an unemployment rate that was well below the national number, although job growth remained weak.
The number of unemployed Delawareans was 30,000 in April 2012, compared to 31,700 in April 2011. The nation’s unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in April 2012, down from 8.2 percent in March 2012. In April 2011, the U.S. unemployment rate was 9.0 percent.In April of this year, seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment was 421,000, up from 418,900 in March 2012. The over-the-month increase of 2,100 jobs came leisure and hospitality, and professional and business services.
Since April 2011, nonfarm jobs have increased by 700, a rise of 0.2 percent. Nationally, job growth during that period increased at a much stronger 1.4 rate. Over the past twelve months, the job gains in Delaware were in education and health at 2,200; and financial activities at 1,000. The largest decreases were in construction, down 1,900, and retail trade, a dip of 900. The financial services sector has seen nnouncements of employment expansions by Chase, Capital One, Barclays, Citi and Bank of America.
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