Delaware’s unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent in December, with the state adding more than 10,000 jobs in 1018. The unemployment rate in November was 3.9 percent.
The Delaware Department of Labor cautioned that the employment numbers could be adjusted downward as the state receives more accurate payroll data.
In recent years, job estimates showed sluggish growth but were often revised upward once payroll data was calculated. The previous year may prove to be different.
“There is reason to believe that the upcoming data revisions will lower the job growth for 2018. The complete payroll reports, which are the benchmark job estimates are revised to, have not shown the same strong job growth as the December survey estimates,” the report stated. “The payroll data show average 12-month gains of 5,000 jobs for the first nine months of 2018. That slowed to less than 3,000 in the month of September. The full-year payroll data won’t come out until the spring; for now, the bottom line is that Delaware’s economy had a good year, but maybe not quite as good as the December estimates portray.”
In the December figures, the Labor Department reported 18,200 unemployed Delawareans compared to 21,700 in December 2017. The nation’s unemployment rate was 3.9 percent in December 2018, up from 3.7 percent in November 2018. In December 2017 the nation’s unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, while Delaware’s rate was 4.5 percent.
In December, seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment was 465,700, up from 464,500 in November 2018.
Since December 2017, Delaware’s job growth has risen 2.2 percent. Nationally, jobs during that period increased by 1.8 percent.
Showing strong growth were jobs in construction, business services, and education and health. There was no growth in financial services jobs and a small drop in information positions.
