Delaware’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in May 2022 was 4.5%, unchanged from April, the Delaware Department of Labor reported on Friday.
It was third consecutive month that the rate remained unchanged.
The department reported 22,600 unemployed Delawareans in May 2022 compared to 28,300 in May 2021. The nation’s unemployment rate was 3.6% in May, unchanged from April 2022. In May 2021, the US unemployment rate was 5.8%, while Delaware’s rate was 5.7%.
Delaware and neighboring states have reported higher unemployment rates than the nation as a whole during the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. The slower recovery is expected to be an issue during an election year.
In May 2022, seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment was 457,400, up from 457,000 in April 2022. Since May 2021, Delaware’s total nonfarm jobs have increased by 8,100, an increase of 1.8%. Nationally, the number of jobs during that period increased by 4%.
The number of Delaware jobs has grown by 8,100 or 18 percent over May 2021. Delaware’s Labor Force Participation rate of 61.2 percent was unchanged from April.
There were 22,600 unemployed Delawareans in May 2022, roughly one-third of the number of unemployed during the height of the Coronavirus pandemic in May 2020. At that time, the total number of unemployed increased to 65,600, the highest number since 1976.
