Jobless rate up slightly to 4.4 percent

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Delaware’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in January was 4.4 percent, up slightly from 4.3 percent in December 2016 as signs point to a slowdown in job growth.

There were 20,600 unemployed Delawareans in January 2017 compared to 21,500 in January 2016.

The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.8 percent in January 2017, up from 4.7 percent in December 2016.

In January 2016,  the U.S. unemployment figure  was 4.9 percent, while Delaware’s rate was 4.5 percent.

In January 2017, seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment was 456,700  compared to  454,400 in December 2016.

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Since January 2016, Delaware’s total nonfarm jobs have increased by    5,000, a rise of 1.1 percent. Nationally, jobs during that period increased 1.5 percent.

During the first half of 2016, both survey-based employment estimates –  one which measures jobs at business establishments in Delaware and the other which tracks labor force activities among  state residents -showed large gains.

The gains were then reduced by big downward revisions as new data was received.

However,  the January 2017  estimate, which is based on survey responses from about 1,350 business units, shows a rebound of 2,300 jobs since December and 5,000 since last January.

The other series, based on survey responses from about 850 Delaware households, shows a smaller monthly gain of 400 employed residents, and 2,300 fewer employed residents than a year earlier.

More definitive payroll reports from nearly 32,000 business units take months to collect.

Payroll reports, which currently go through September 2016, do not show big increases in the half of 2016 (hence the downward revisions).

The payroll data shows annual gains of about 8,000 jobs early in the year, falling to about 3,000 mid-year and staying at that level in the third quarter.

Until fourth quarter payroll data become available (the first look comes in about a month),   the best estimate is that job growth is running about 1 percent annually.

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