The local economy of Delaware and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data.
Unemployment rate
4.7%
August 2026, 5.0% a year ago
Average weekly pay
$1,606
Q1 2026, 473,598 jobs
New homes permitted
6,477
Last 12 months to August 2026
Net people moving in
+7,734
2022 to 2023
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for its history.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Delaware, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Delaware is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row.
The unemployment rate in Delaware was 4.7% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 5.0% a year earlier. 481,714 people were employed out of a labor force of 505,307. Among its counties, Sussex County had the lowest rate (4.5%) and Kent County the highest (5.5%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Delaware was $1,606 in Q1 2026, up 3.1% from a year earlier, across 473,598 jobs at 47,081 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 582 new homes in Delaware in August 2026 (498 single-family and 84 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 4,583, up 5.6% from the same months last year, and 6,477 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Sussex County (3,621), New Castle County (1,536), Kent County (1,320) over the last 12 months.
Yes. From 2022 to 2023, 36,247 people moved to Delaware and 28,513 moved away, a net gain of 7,734 (+9.6 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and most people who left went to Pennsylvania, Maryland, Florida.
The weekly survey does not publish a separate price for Delaware. In its region, Central Atlantic, regular gasoline averaged $4.41 per gallon in the week of September 28, 2026.