Delaware jobs numbers above pre-recession high

Delaware’s unemployment rate dropped another tenth of a percent for October.

That brings the number to 6.4 percent down from 6.5 percent in September. A year ago at this time the Delaware jobless number was at 6.5 percent.  

All through the recession, Delaware’s unemployment number was much lower than the national average. For November, the U.S. jobless rate was 5.9 percent. A year ago it was at 7.2 percent.

Delaware can point to some positive growth. There were 12,500 new jobs created which is an increase of almost 3 percent over last year.

Those numbers were good enough for the Markell administration to declare that job levels in the state had reached pre-recession levels. There are now 443,700 jobs.  That tops the 442,300 mark set in 2008.

“After nearly two years of job growth that has surpassed the national average, today’s news shows that we have made significant progress in growing our economy,” said Governor Jack Markel, D-Delaware.

A county by county breakout of the state numbers showed each county hovering just above or just below 6 percent. Wilmington had the highest unemployment rate at 9 percent, down 0.6 percent from September. The unemployment rate was also 9.6 percent in October 2013.