June 19, 2020
In
In The News
From Delaware State News
DOVER — Delaware’s April unemployment rate shattered the old record. Its mark for May is even higher.
The state’s unemployment rate climbed 14.9% to 15.8% from April to May, an indication of just how far from over the COVID crisis is. Nearly one in six Delaware workers did not have a job last month, according to the data.
Out of the estimated civilian labor force of almost 473,000 Delawareans, about 75,000 were not employed in May, according to data from the Delaware Department of Labor and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The unemployment rate rose from 3.9% in February to 5.1% in March, the largest month-to-month increase since September 1990, before April’s astronomical climb.
Delaware’s first coronavirus case was announced March 11, and businesses were under serious restrictions by the end of the month, while residents were urged to remain at home.
Nationally, the unemployment rate actually fell in May, declining from 14.7% to 13.3%. Still, 13.3% is the highest the rate has been since the Great Depression, and the Federal Reserve this month predicted unemployment will be around 9% at the end of the year.
For comparison, the unemployment rates for May 2019 were 3.6% nationally and 3.7% locally.
Delaware’s unemployment record before COVID was 9.8%, set in 1976, the first year job records for the state are available. During the Great Recession, the First State’s nadir was 8.8%.
The May unemployment rates for New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties, respectively, are 14.9%, 17% and 16%. However, unlike the state rate, the county figures are not seasonally adjusted.
Over the past 12 months, Delaware has lost almost 73,000 jobs, with about 41% of the losses in leisure and hospitality.
The state has seen in excess of 100,000 unemployment claims in three months, more than triple the number from all of 2019.
Delaware is currently in the second phase of its three-part “rolling” economic recovery. There’s no timetable for when the next step will begin.
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