The Delaware jobless rate increased in June to 6.1 percent, compared to 5.9 percent a month earlier as it looks as if more people are looking for work.
The rate is one-tenth of one percent lower than it was at the beginning of 2014. The jobless figure now matches the national rate.
The state’s jobless rate has typically been well below the national figure.
According to the Delaware Department of Labor report, the increase was the product of growing labor force, where the number employed increased by 1,300, with the number of unemployed up 700.
It was the second month in a row that the workforce had been on the rise. Labor market officials look for such trends as variations often occur on a monthly basis, due to estimates and other factors.
A recent report from the National Association of Realtors had indicated the state ranked eighth among the 50 states in job growth.
The workforce and employment growth is the opposite of the situation during the summer of 2013, when a falling unemployment rate was accompanied by fewer people in the labor force.
Given the sizable increases in jobs, a stronger economy attracting discouraged workers to look for jobs is the most plausible explanation, the department reported
In June 2013, the U.S. unemployment rate was 7.5%, while Delaware’s rate was 6.9%.
In June, seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment was 437,800, up from 437,600 in May 2014.
Since June 2013, Delaware’s total of nonfarm jobs have increased by 13,200, an increase of 3.1 percent. Nationally, jobs growth during that period increased 1.8 percent.
An uptick in the unemployment rate often occurs during a recovery. This time around, that pattern of job growth and more people looking for work did not occur, at least until the June figures came out.
Economists had said older workers were simply retiring early after becoming discouraged in the job search.
The figures are expected to increase discussion on the state of the Delaware economy, with Republican legislators claiming the state is lagging behind much of the nation. The Markell administration has taken note of the strong job growth, but is quick to add conditions are far from normal.
