Delaware unemployment down another tenth

Delaware’s unemployment rate continues its slow retreat and now stands at 6 percent for February.

The Department of Labor’s latest report shows Delaware’s unemployment was at 6 percent last month, down from 6.1 percent in January. In February, there were 26,400 unemployed Delawareans, compared to 30,600 on the unemployment line in February 2013.

The labor report states that February 2014 marks the four year anniversary of the lowest point of the latest economic recession. Since then, the state has added a total of 26,800 jobs. The Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services sector added the most, with 6,200 new jobs. The Health Care sector added the second most, with 5,800 new jobs.

The number of employed Delawareans is 8,400 shy of the state’s all-time high for employment which came in February 2008, according to the Department of Labor. They project that the state could eclipse that record in the first half of next year.

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The state’s regional unemployment numbers- which are not seasonally adjusted- have seen improvement as well. Wilmington still has the state’s highest unemployment rate at 8.6 percent in February, but that’s a big drop from the city’s 10 percent unemployment rate at this time last year.

New Castle County’s unemployment rate for February is 6.1 percent, down from 6.2 percent in January.  Kent County’s unemployment rate is at 6.6 percent for February, down a full percentage point February 2013. Sussex County’s unemployment rate is at 7.1 percent, down from 8.6 percent one year ago.

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