What does this measure?

The unemployment rate for men and women in a geographic area. Unemployed individuals are those without jobs who are able, available, and seeking work; the rate presents them as a share of the total labor force.

Why is this important?

Unemployment rates are a relatively timely indicator of current local economic conditions, particularly recent changes in the employment landscape that reflect the overall health of the economy. Gender disparities in this indicator can be a sign of gender differences in individual's ability to access to employment and income.

How is our state doing?

In 2012-16, like the nation as a whole, Delaware had higher unemployment rates for men than for women. In 2012-16, 6.6% of female residents and 7.6% of male residents of Delaware were unemployed. This was a change from 2000 when the rates were more even for the two genders. Nationally, this trend is explained by job losses in more traditionally male industries such as manufacturing while sectors such as retail and services that are often considered more traditionally female have seen job growth. Delaware's unemployment rates were in line with the nation for men while lower for women.

While male unemployment rates were similar for all of Delaware's counties, New Castle County had slightly lower female unemployment (6.1%) than Sussex and Kent (7.3% and 7.8% respectively). The City of Wilmington had higher unemployment rates for both genders, with male unemployment at 12%.

Notes about the data

Multiyear figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS). The bureau combined five years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. 2017 data for this indicator are expected to be released in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Data on employment by gender is only available from the American Community Survey, and they are somewhat different from the total population employment data produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics using response to the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS). Two different survey methodologies are used (ACS responses are collected by mail, phone, and in person; CPS uses phone and in-person interviews), CPS questions on employment are more detailed, and CPS requires that someone be "actively" searching for work (interviewing, calling contacts) in order to qualify as unemployed. In addition, the ACS estimates used here cover a 5-year period, compared to an annual average of monthly estimates presented in the general unemployment indicator. In 2009, the annual unemployment estimates for the nation from the two surveys varied, with ACS at 9.9% and CPS at 9.3%.