Delaware’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in October 2018 was 3.9 percent down slightly from 4 percent a month earlier, the Delaware Department of Labor reported. [Not a valid template]
The department also reported surprise job gains in accommodations (hotels), food service and manufacturing.
A total of 19,100 unemployed Delawareans were reported in October compared to 21,700 in October 2017.
The US unemployment rate was 3.7 percent in October, unchanged from September.
In October 2017 the US unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, while Delaware’s rate was 4.5 percent.
In October 2018, seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment was 463,700, up from 463,000 in September of this year.
Since October 2017, Delaware’s total nonfarm jobs have increased by a net gain of 5,300 up 1.2 percent. Nationally, jobs during that period increased by 1.7 percent.
In its monthly commentary, the Delaware Department of Labor noted that payroll data for the second quarter.
The payroll report showed solid growth of 6,833 jobs overall from the second quarter of 2017 to the second quarter of 2018, with about a third of that number in the Accommodation and Food Services sector. That growth had not been picked up by the surveys. Another surprise was a gain of over 1,100 jobs in manufacturing, where the survey-based estimate had initially shown a gain of a measly 33 jobs.
The biggest gains were in poultry processing, but perhaps more notable were the widespread small job gains across a large number and variety of manufacturers.
On the minus side, was a 10 percent drop in Information jobs, which include media and data processing.
The payroll figures provide more solid information than the estimates that are used in monthly employment stats.
