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Delaware adds jobs in June, unemployment rises slightly

Delaware Public Media

 

Delaware continues to have one of the fastest growing job markets in the country - despite a slight uptick in its unemployment rate, according to June unemployment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

State unemployment rose 1/10 of a percentage point last month, from 4.1 percent to 4.2, but Delaware added 4,100 jobs.

The preliminary survey data is showing strong job growth, according to George Sharpley, who tracks the unemployment rate for Delaware’s Department of Labor. But if you look at the payroll count, which is a more accurate, you see a slowdown in hiring starting at the end of 2015 and continuing into the start of 2016.  

"Is that slowdown just a brief slowdown and the economy will pick back up or is it the beginning of a more serious slowdown? I’m not sure,” Sharpley said.

It will take a few months to figure out if the June survey data is painting a rosier picture than what is actually true, although Sharpley expects the hiring numbers to be revised downward. 

But even if hiring slows down, the state is still making real gains in employment, with the largest job growth in New Castle County, followed by Sussex County.

All job sectors saw growth last month except for state government. The food service industry and financial sector continue to see some of the largest gains in jobs.

 
Plus, the data shows the state is adding high and low wage jobs.  
 
"We're seeing about a 2 percent increase in wages each year. And we wouldn't see that if we were just adding low wage jobs," Sharpley said. 

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