Delaware jobless rate remains unchanged at 4.7 percent

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Delaware’s unemployment rate remained  at 4.7 percent in June, unchanged from a month earlier, the Delaware Department of Labor reported.

The June 2016 unempoyment rate was 4.4 percent.

The  Delawre jobless rate stayed  three-tenths of a percent higher than the national figure, after decades of having a  jobless rate below the U.S. number.

Delaware was only one of four states that did not see a single month of decline in the jobless rate  in 2017.

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The others are all in the East  – Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.

Half of all states,  did not see  a single month of an unemployment increase in 2017.

The state did manage to add 1,300 jobs through May, but was still about half the national percentage rate.  

Five states had job losses – Kansas Mississippi , New Jersey, Vermont and West Virginia.  Nine  other states grew by less than 0.3 percent.

Delaware’s position in the bottom third is not likely to improve with the June data . The 1,200 drop  in jobs in the state  last month leaves  the 2017  gain at  a measly  400 jobs gained midway through the year, adding up to  0.1 percent growth.

The state has been struggling with budget problems that may be reflected in employment numbers.  State government employment is down by 600 jobs the largest drop in more than 15 categories.

State government, especially when  public school jobs are considered, is the largest single employer in the state.

By contrast, the construction sector appeared to be relatively robust with a gain of 1,200 jobs over the past year. Leisure and hospitality saw an even stronger gain of 1,800 jobs.

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