Delaware’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in May rose slightly to 4.7 percent, from 4.6 percent in April. The jobless rate increase was further evidence of the state having a higher figure than the nation as a whole. That has rarely been the case in the past two decades.
The jobless rate increase was further evidence of the state having a higher figure than the nation as a whole. That has rarely been the case in the past two decades.
The report from the Delaware Department of Labor listed 22,200 unemployed Delawareans in May compared to 20,800 in May 2016.
The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in May, down from 4.4 percent in April 2017. In May 2016 the U.S. unemployment rate was 4.7 percent, while Delaware’s rate was 4.4 percent.
In May 2017, seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment in Delaware was 455,700 unchanged from April 2017.
Since May 2016, Delaware’s total nonfarm jobs have increased by 4,000, up 0.9 percent. Nationally, jobs during that period increased 1.5 percent
The number of Delaware residents who were counted as unemployed over the last 12 months, 22,000, is unchanged, the Labor Department noted.
Data from the Current Population Survey of households (CPS), which forms the basis for the official labor force data, show that the number of unemployed males rose by 1,100 over the past year, while the number of unemployed females fell by a similar number.
(See full report and graphics below)
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A deeper dive into the data shows that the increased unemployment was almost entirely among African-American males, whose unemployment rate rose from 5.9 percent to 7.9 percent.
This increase was entirely due to entrants to the labor force, as the total number of African- American males with jobs actually rose by 100 over the last year, and 600 fewer African-Americans lost jobs.
If the desire to return to the workforce represents more optimism about job availability, it could be a good thing, assuming that most can find suitable employment, the reported noted.
However, that optimism is tempered by the longer median length of time that African-Americans are unemployed.
The length of time off the job for African-Americans is about 50 percent longer than the overall average (17.4 weeks vs. 11.3). Moreover, about half of those affected were teenagers facing difficulty in finding jobs, the report noted.
