Delaware unemployment rate down again

Delaware’s unemployment rate dropped two-tenths of a percent in December and now stands at 7.4 percent.  

That’s down from 7.6 percent in November.  The latest numbers from the Delaware Department of Labor shows there were 31,900 unemployed Delawareans in December 2011, a drop of nearly 4,000 from December 2010.  Major gains of more than 500 jobs each were in education and health sectors.

Broken down locally, the numbers still show Wilmington with the state’s highest concentration of unemployed workers.  The city’s unemployment rate, which is not seasonally adjusted, stands at 10.4 percent for December, down from 10.6 percent from November.  New Castle County’s rate stands at 6.9 percent, the same as it was the month before.  Kent County’s unemployment rate is up slightly, 7.2 percent in December compared to 6.8 percent in November.  Sussex County’s unemployment rate was up as well, 7.7 percent in December, compared to 7 percent in November.  Those increases may be due to seasonal changes that are filtered out of the statewide unemployment rate.