Delaware Department of Labor Releases Annual Economic Report
Department of Labor | Date Posted: Thursday, September 18, 2025
Department of Labor | Date Posted: Thursday, September 18, 2025

WILMINGTON, Del. — The Delaware Department of Labor released its Annual Economic Report – a comprehensive look at the state’s economy and workforce. Free and available to the public, the report can be downloaded online at de.gov/AnnualReport and highlights unemployment, wages by industry, city and county employment and labor force participation data.
“Delaware Department of Labor’s Office of Occupational and Labor Market Information provides us with valuable data that can help policymakers, businesses, researchers, and the public make data-driven decisions to make Delaware a better place to live, work and run a business,” said Labor Secretary LaKresha Moultrie. “This year’s report highlights Delaware’s strong job growth and an annual unemployment rate that ticked lower than the national rate.”
A few highlights from this year’s report:
• For the first time since 2020, Delaware’s annual unemployment rate at 3.7 percent was lower than the national rate of 4.0 percent.
• Over-the-year total employment grew in Wilmington, Newark and Dover.
• Average total jobs in each county grew from the prior year: New Castle (2,000 or 0.6 percent), Kent (600 or 0.8 percent) and Sussex (2,500 or 2.7 percent).
• Delaware saw the most new residents from Pennsylvania than any other state.
• The Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, Rental, and Leasing Industry led all industries in GDP to the State, comprising 41.2 percent of Delaware’s total GDP.
• Delaware’s annual labor force participation rate was the lowest since record keeping began in 1976 at 59.6 percent.
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Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.
Here you can subscribe to future news updates.
Department of Labor | Date Posted: Thursday, September 18, 2025

WILMINGTON, Del. — The Delaware Department of Labor released its Annual Economic Report – a comprehensive look at the state’s economy and workforce. Free and available to the public, the report can be downloaded online at de.gov/AnnualReport and highlights unemployment, wages by industry, city and county employment and labor force participation data.
“Delaware Department of Labor’s Office of Occupational and Labor Market Information provides us with valuable data that can help policymakers, businesses, researchers, and the public make data-driven decisions to make Delaware a better place to live, work and run a business,” said Labor Secretary LaKresha Moultrie. “This year’s report highlights Delaware’s strong job growth and an annual unemployment rate that ticked lower than the national rate.”
A few highlights from this year’s report:
• For the first time since 2020, Delaware’s annual unemployment rate at 3.7 percent was lower than the national rate of 4.0 percent.
• Over-the-year total employment grew in Wilmington, Newark and Dover.
• Average total jobs in each county grew from the prior year: New Castle (2,000 or 0.6 percent), Kent (600 or 0.8 percent) and Sussex (2,500 or 2.7 percent).
• Delaware saw the most new residents from Pennsylvania than any other state.
• The Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, Rental, and Leasing Industry led all industries in GDP to the State, comprising 41.2 percent of Delaware’s total GDP.
• Delaware’s annual labor force participation rate was the lowest since record keeping began in 1976 at 59.6 percent.
###
Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.
Here you can subscribe to future news updates.
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