Delaware unemployment up slightly

After holding steady or declining nearly every month this year, Delaware’s unemployment rate is up one tenth of a percent for the second month in a row.

 

The latest numbers from the Delaware Department of Labor show the state’s unemployment rate at 6.9% for August, that’s up from July’s rate of 6.8%.  The unemployment rate bottomed out this year in June at 6.7%.  There were 30,234 unemployed Delawareans looking for work in August, that’s an increase from 29,993 in July.

The decline in jobs mainly came from decreases in the professional and business services sector and the manufacturing sector.

Local area numbers, which are not seasonably adjusted, show a decline in une mployment in New Castle and Kent Counties, while Sussex County’s number stayed steady at 6%.  New Castle County saw the biggest rate drop, from 7.4% in July to 7.1% in August.  Kent County’s rate was down slightly to 7.6% in August from 7.7% in July.

Nationally, the August unemployment rate stands at 8.1%, a slight drop from July’s 8.3%.