New Castle County, DE jobs, unemployment and layoffs

New Castle County’s unemployment rate is 4.6%. No layoff notices here in the last 12 months. 625 open professional jobs are in its cities.

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New Castle County economy

4.6%
unemployment, Sep 2026
5.1% the month before
299,137
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
573,030
people in New Castle County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$89,901
median household income
Source: Census ACS
47%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Where New Castle County ranks

Where New Castle County placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.

November 2026

#12Counties with the most jobs in AI-exposed sectors in the Mid-Atlantic31% · of 100
#14Best counties for laid-off professionals in the Mid-Atlantic61 / 100 · of 64
#24Best county job markets for job seekers in the Mid-Atlantic55 / 100 · of 64
#25Best counties for laid-off professionals70 / 100 · of 100

New Castle County outlook: Building

Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.

Private-sector jobs up 4.6% from 2022 to 2025
Population up 3.0% from 2020 to 2025
Unemployment 4.6%, down 0.5 points from a year ago
Sectors adding the most jobs: health care (+7,774 jobs), transportation & warehousing (+1,671 jobs)
Sectors losing the most jobs: admin & staffing (−1,612 jobs), management of companies (−1,063 jobs)

Local job-market news

Recent headlines about layoffs, AI and jobs in New Castle County. Each link goes to the publisher.

University of Delaware launches statewide survey on AI in the workplaceDelaware Business Times · Oct 13, 2026

Learn and get funded in New Castle County

Which AI skills each kind of job asks for, with the pay premium.
Your local workforce board and American Job Centers: training vouchers and re-employment help.
Grants and funding for job seekers, ranked for your state and situation.
Unemployment benefits by state, if you are between jobs.

New Castle County layoffs

No layoff notices naming New Castle County in the last 12 months are on file. The WARN Act covers employers with 100 or more workers, so smaller layoffs are not in it.

All layoff notices in the state

Employers hiring most in New Castle County

Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.

Qnity Electronics43 open roles
University of Delaware34 open roles
Sargent & Lundy31 open roles
Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company29 open roles
CSC28 open roles
Astrazeneca24 open roles
Nemours Childrens Health18 open roles
DuPont de Nemours17 open roles
Incyte17 open roles
Hologic16 open roles

Largest employers headquartered in New Castle County

Lucid Motorsabout 6,500 employees (2023)
TE Connectivity20,001–100,000 employees
Incyte1,001–5,000 employees

Employee counts with a year are published figures (Wikidata). Other sizes are estimates from our company directory, not payroll counts.

Colleges in New Castle County

Colleges in New Castle County
College	City	Type	Students
University of Delaware	Newark	Public 4-year	20,000+
Wilmington University	New Castle	Private non-profit 4-year	10,000–19,999
Goldey-Beacom College	Wilmington	Private non-profit 4-year	1,000–4,999

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving New Castle County. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

Laid off in Delaware? How to file for unemployment in Delaware (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).

Delaware Workforce Development Board
Serves all of Delaware

Newark American Job Center
Newark · Comprehensive · 302-453-4350
8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mon - Fri
Fox Valley American Job Center
Wilmington · Comprehensive · 302-761-8085
8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday - Friday

Cities in New Castle County

Other Delaware counties

All of Delaware

Laid off or looking for work in New Castle County?

See what to do first and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); layoff notices from Delaware’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. Delaware unemployment benefits and severance rules.

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