Sussex County vs. Delaware
Comparative Trends Analysis:
Total Employment Growth and Change, 1969-2022
Introduction
Sussex County vs. Delaware
Sussex County:
2022 Jobs = 134,582
2022 Percent of State = 20.67%
Delaware:
2022 Jobs = 651,224
2022 Percent of U.S. = 0.31%
Employment numbers remain the most popular and frequently cited statistics used for tracking local area economic conditions and trends. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) employment estimates reported measure the number of full- and part-time wage and salary employees, plus the number of proprietors of unincorporated businesses. People holding more than one job are counted in the employment estimates for each job they hold. This means BEA employment estimates represent a job count, not a people count. Also, BEA employment is by place-of-work, rather than by place-of-residence. Jobs held by neighboring county residents who commute to Sussex County to work are included in the employment count for Sussex County.
Data Definition:
The BEA employment series for states and local areas comprises estimates of the number of jobs, full-time plus part-time, by place of work. Full-time and part-time jobs are counted at equal weight. Employees, sole proprietors, and active partners are included, but unpaid family workers and volunteers are not included. Proprietors employment consists of the number of sole proprietorships and the number of partners in partnerships. The description "by place of work" applies to the wage and salary portion of the series and, with relatively little error, to the entire series. The proprietors employment portion of the series, however, is more nearly by place of residence because, for nonfarm sole proprietorships, the estimates are based on IRS tax data that reflect the address from which the proprietor's individual tax return is filed, which is usually the proprietor's residence. The nonfarm partnership portion of the proprietors employment series reflects the tax-filing address of the partnership, which may be either the residence of one of the partners or the business address of the partnership. The employment estimates are designed to be consistent with the estimates of wages and salaries and proprietors' income that are part of the personal income series. The employment estimates are based on the same sets of source data as the corresponding earnings estimates and are prepared with parallel methodologies. Two forms of proprietors' income-the income of limited partnerships and the income of tax-exempt cooperatives-have no corresponding employment estimates.
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Figure 1.
Figure 1 traces Sussex County's annual total employment for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate total employment patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Sussex County's total employment rose from 40,095 in 1969 to 134,582 in 2022, for a net gain of 94,487, or 235.66%.
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Figure 2.
Figure 2 tracks Delaware's annual total employment for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate total employment patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Delaware's total employment rose from 270,578 in 1969 to 651,224 in 2022, for a net gain of 380,646, or 140.68%.
Total Employment Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022
Total Employment Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022
Figure 3.
Figure 3 portrays Sussex County's total employment growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Delaware, the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's total employment in 1969 as a base figure of 100, and the total employments in later years as a percentage of the 1969 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in total employment growth between regions that may differ vastly in size.
Sussex County's overall total employment growth was 235.66% over 1969-2022 outpaced Delaware's increase of 140.68%, and outpaced the United States' increase of 133.32%.
Total Employment as a Percent of the Delaware Total: 1969-2022
Total Employment as a Percent of the Delaware Total: 1969-2022
Figure 4.
Another interesting and insightful way of highlighting the total employment growth of Sussex County is to compare its individual percentage contributions to Delaware's statewide total employment over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's total employment grew faster, or declined less, than Delaware's total employment, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly.
In 1969, Sussex County's total employment comprised 14.82% of Delaware's total employment, while in 2022 it equated to 20.67% thereby yielding a +5.85% share-shift.
   
 
Total Employment Share-Shift
2022 vs. 1969
 
Share-
Shift*
 
2022
vs.
1969
+5.85%
=
20.67%
-
14.82%
 
   
Sussex County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022
Sussex County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022
Figure 5.
Figure 5 highlights the short-run pattern of Sussex County's total employment growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2022. The average annual percent change for the entire 53-year period is also traced on this chart to provide a benchmark for gauging periods of relative high--and relative low--growth against the backdrop of the long-term average.
On average, Sussex County's total employment grew at an annual rate of 2.34% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 1972 (7.03%) and posted its lowest growth in 1975 (-2.82%). In 2022, Sussex County's total employment grew by 5.57%
Sussex County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022
Sussex County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022
Figure 6.
Over the past five decades some counties have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again traces the annual percent change in Sussex County's total employment since 1970, but this time they are overlayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2022.
During the 1970s, Sussex County's annual total employment growth rate averaged 1.63%. It averaged 3.13% in the 1980s, 2.24% throughout the 1990s, 2.17% during the 2000s, 2.06% throughout the 2010s, 3.84% thus far this decade (2020-2022).
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change by Decade
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change by Decade
Figure 7.
Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Sussex County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Delaware and the nation. As the chart reveals, Sussex County's average annual total employment growth recorded above Delaware's average during the 1970s (1.63% vs. 1.45%), surpassed Delaware's average in the 1980s (3.13% vs. 2.91%), topped Delaware's average in the 1990s (2.24% vs. 1.72%), led Delaware's average in the 2000s (2.17% vs. 0.70%), recorded above Delaware's average during the 2010s (2.06% vs. 1.38%), and registered above Delaware's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (3.84% vs. 2.66%).
Finally, relative to nationwide total employment growth trends, Sussex County posted below the nation in the 1970s (1.63% vs. 2.21%), registered above the nation throughout the 1980s (3.13% vs. 1.88%), led the nation over the 1990s (2.24% vs. 1.73%), outpaced the nation throughout the 2000s (2.17% vs. 0.74%), outgained the nation over the 2010s (2.06% vs. 1.51%), and outperformed the nation over 2020-2022 (3.84% vs. 1.82%).
   
 
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change
 
 
 
2.34
1.63
3.13
2.24
2.17
2.06
3.84
5.57
 
1.69
1.45
2.91
1.72
0.70
1.38
2.66
4.98
 
1.62
2.21
1.88
1.73
0.74
1.51
1.82
4.78
 
   
Job Ratios (Employment/Population): 1969-2022
Job Ratios (Employment/Population): 1969-2022
Figure 8.
The job ratios shown in Figure 8 for Sussex County, Delaware and the nation not only portray a number of important trends, they also serves as a thumbnail guide to evaluating an economy's capacity to generate enough jobs fast enough to absorb the increasing number of workers attendant to a growing population. The job ratio is the number of full-time and part-time jobs by place of work, divided by population.
Nationally, the job ratio rose from 0.45 to 0.64 between 1969 and 2022. Sussex County's job ratio registered 0.50 in 1969, and 0.53 in 2022. Underlying the rising job ratio over the past several decades have been the increases in the labor force participation rates, with the number and proportion of women in the labor market playing a leading role.
An assortment of other factors can contribute to regional differences in the job ratio. They include differences in the proportion of elderly and retirees who no longer work and participate in the labor force, differences in the number and proportion of part-time vs. full-time workers, differences in industry composition, and differences in age and sex distribution and degree of urbanization. Also, a disproportionate number of workers commuting to work outside a county tends to lower its local county job ratio, while a net inflow of workers commuting to work inside the county tends to augment its local county job ratio.
Avoid interpreting the job ratio as the fraction (or percent) of the local population employed. This interpretation should only apply to the "employment-population ratio" statistic compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from the Current Population Survey (CPS).
Job Ratios (Employment/Population)
as a Percent of the U.S. Average:
1969-2022
Job Ratios (Employment/Population)
as a Percent of the U.S. Average:
1969-2022
Figure 9.
To highlight trends in a local job ratio relative to nationwide trends, Figure 9 tracks Sussex County's, Delaware's job ratio as a percent of the national job ratio over 1969-2022.

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
Sussex County:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
40,095
100.0
N
14.82
0.50
111.34
1970
 
41,532
103.6
3.58
15.13
0.51
114.73
1971
 
42,406
105.8
2.10
15.14
0.51
114.12
1972
 
45,388
113.2
7.03
15.50
0.53
118.09
1973
 
45,787
114.2
0.88
15.02
0.53
112.77
1974
 
45,576
113.7
-0.46
15.11
0.51
108.32
1975
 
44,291
110.5
-2.82
15.16
0.48
105.44
1976
 
44,426
110.8
0.30
15.02
0.47
101.58
1977
 
44,170
110.2
-0.58
14.90
0.47
97.74
1978
 
46,355
115.6
4.95
15.23
0.48
98.09
1979
 
46,970
117.1
1.33
15.06
0.48
95.61
1980
 
46,558
116.1
-0.88
14.94
0.47
94.60
1981
 
46,809
116.7
0.54
14.93
0.48
95.05
1982
 
48,122
120.0
2.81
15.20
0.49
99.19
1983
 
51,330
128.0
6.67
15.78
0.51
103.97
1984
 
53,813
134.2
4.84
15.83
0.53
103.16
1985
 
57,048
142.3
6.01
15.99
0.55
105.48
1986
 
59,269
147.8
3.89
16.01
0.56
106.18
1987
 
60,967
152.1
2.86
15.77
0.56
105.37
1988
 
63,277
157.8
3.79
15.71
0.58
105.33
1989
 
63,769
159.0
0.78
15.38
0.57
103.72
1990
 
65,465
163.3
2.66
15.58
0.57
103.49
1991
 
64,879
161.8
-0.90
15.66
0.55
101.12
1992
 
65,106
162.4
0.35
15.76
0.53
99.05
1993
 
65,879
164.3
1.19
15.66
0.52
96.42
1994
 
67,149
167.5
1.93
15.82
0.52
94.10
1995
 
71,072
177.3
5.84
16.06
0.53
95.07
1996
 
73,392
183.0
3.26
16.21
0.53
93.80
1997
 
75,626
188.6
3.04
16.28
0.53
92.72
1998
 
77,104
192.3
1.95
16.18
0.52
90.13
1999
 
79,490
198.3
3.09
16.19
0.52
89.57
2000
 
82,401
205.5
3.66
16.37
0.52
89.38
2001
 
84,189
210.0
2.17
16.75
0.52
90.34
2002
 
86,396
215.5
2.62
17.26
0.53
91.67
2003
 
88,038
219.6
1.90
17.46
0.52
91.28
2004
 
92,720
231.3
5.32
17.90
0.54
93.21
2005
 
96,292
240.2
3.85
18.21
0.54
93.17
2006
 
99,123
247.2
2.94
18.46
0.54
92.21
2007
 
101,391
252.9
2.29
18.61
0.54
90.86
2008
 
100,844
251.5
-0.54
18.51
0.53
89.13
2009
 
98,317
245.2
-2.51
18.71
0.50
89.19
2010
 
98,884
246.6
0.58
18.93
0.50
89.44
2011
 
97,957
244.3
-0.94
18.47
0.49
86.69
2012
 
99,182
247.4
1.25
18.56
0.49
85.99
2013
 
101,240
252.5
2.07
18.59
0.49
85.57
2014
 
104,955
261.8
3.67
18.86
0.50
85.93
2015
 
108,268
270.0
3.16
19.03
0.51
85.73
2016
 
112,198
279.8
3.63
19.39
0.51
86.28
2017
 
115,009
286.8
2.51
19.67
0.52
85.82
2018
 
118,961
296.7
3.44
19.93
0.52
85.61
2019
 
120,399
300.3
1.21
19.97
0.52
84.69
2020
 
119,186
297.3
-1.01
20.13
0.50
84.70
2021
 
127,486
318.0
6.96
20.55
0.51
84.28
2022
 
134,582
335.7
5.57
20.67
0.53
82.49
Source: Calculations by the Delaware Regional Economic Analysis Project (DE-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PSN
 
   

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
Delaware:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
270,578
100.0
N
0.30
0.50
110.78
1970
 
274,587
101.5
1.48
0.30
0.50
111.40
1971
 
280,122
103.5
2.02
0.31
0.50
111.92
1972
 
292,813
108.2
4.53
0.31
0.51
113.23
1973
 
304,918
112.7
4.13
0.31
0.53
113.07
1974
 
301,531
111.4
-1.11
0.30
0.52
110.19
1975
 
292,148
108.0
-3.11
0.30
0.50
108.10
1976
 
295,771
109.3
1.24
0.29
0.50
106.85
1977
 
296,352
109.5
0.20
0.28
0.50
104.23
1978
 
304,289
112.5
2.68
0.28
0.51
103.00
1979
 
311,835
115.2
2.48
0.28
0.52
103.35
1980
 
311,674
115.2
-0.05
0.27
0.52
104.44
1981
 
313,583
115.9
0.61
0.27
0.53
105.07
1982
 
316,547
117.0
0.95
0.28
0.53
107.21
1983
 
325,291
120.2
2.76
0.28
0.54
108.61
1984
 
339,928
125.6
4.50
0.28
0.56
108.75
1985
 
356,873
131.9
4.98
0.29
0.58
110.93
1986
 
370,177
136.8
3.73
0.29
0.59
112.21
1987
 
386,540
142.9
4.42
0.30
0.61
113.50
1988
 
402,702
148.8
4.18
0.30
0.62
113.83
1989
 
414,670
153.3
2.97
0.30
0.63
114.17
1990
 
420,105
155.3
1.31
0.30
0.63
113.22
1991
 
414,316
153.1
-1.38
0.30
0.61
111.50
1992
 
413,155
152.7
-0.28
0.30
0.59
110.38
1993
 
420,651
155.5
1.81
0.30
0.60
109.95
1994
 
424,325
156.8
0.87
0.29
0.59
107.91
1995
 
442,453
163.5
4.27
0.30
0.61
109.15
1996
 
452,685
167.3
2.31
0.30
0.61
108.95
1997
 
464,460
171.7
2.60
0.30
0.62
109.04
1998
 
476,426
176.1
2.58
0.30
0.62
108.64
1999
 
491,018
181.5
3.06
0.30
0.63
109.45
2000
 
503,458
186.1
2.53
0.30
0.64
109.24
2001
 
502,735
185.8
-0.14
0.30
0.63
108.78
2002
 
500,634
185.0
-0.42
0.30
0.62
108.19
2003
 
504,089
186.3
0.69
0.30
0.62
107.75
2004
 
518,094
191.5
2.78
0.31
0.62
108.15
2005
 
528,665
195.4
2.04
0.31
0.63
107.26
2006
 
537,096
198.5
1.59
0.31
0.63
106.05
2007
 
544,935
201.4
1.46
0.30
0.63
104.88
2008
 
544,865
201.4
-0.01
0.30
0.62
104.60
2009
 
525,596
194.2
-3.54
0.30
0.59
104.13
2010
 
522,361
193.1
-0.62
0.30
0.58
103.88
2011
 
530,360
196.0
1.53
0.30
0.58
103.42
2012
 
534,253
197.4
0.73
0.30
0.58
102.37
2013
 
544,691
201.3
1.95
0.30
0.59
102.23
2014
 
556,449
205.7
2.16
0.30
0.60
102.01
2015
 
568,832
210.2
2.23
0.30
0.60
101.83
2016
 
578,605
213.8
1.72
0.30
0.61
101.81
2017
 
584,693
216.1
1.05
0.30
0.61
101.13
2018
 
597,021
220.6
2.11
0.30
0.61
100.85
2019
 
602,766
222.8
0.96
0.30
0.61
100.60
2020
 
592,126
218.8
-1.77
0.30
0.60
101.32
2021
 
620,352
229.3
4.77
0.31
0.62
101.10
2022
 
651,224
240.7
4.98
0.31
0.64
100.32
Source: Calculations by the Delaware Regional Economic Analysis Project (DE-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PSN
 
   

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
United States:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
91,053,200
100.0
N
0.45
1970
 
91,277,600
100.2
0.25
0.45
1971
 
91,581,400
100.6
0.33
0.44
1972
 
94,312,200
103.6
2.98
0.45
1973
 
98,427,500
108.1
4.36
0.47
1974
 
100,111,800
109.9
1.71
0.47
1975
 
98,900,600
108.6
-1.21
0.46
1976
 
101,591,200
111.6
2.72
0.47
1977
 
105,042,200
115.4
3.40
0.48
1978
 
109,686,600
120.5
4.42
0.49
1979
 
113,147,100
124.3
3.15
0.50
1980
 
113,983,200
125.2
0.74
0.50
1981
 
114,914,000
126.2
0.82
0.50
1982
 
114,163,300
125.4
-0.65
0.49
1983
 
115,645,700
127.0
1.30
0.49
1984
 
120,528,100
132.4
4.22
0.51
1985
 
123,796,700
136.0
2.71
0.52
1986
 
126,232,300
138.6
1.97
0.53
1987
 
129,548,400
142.3
2.63
0.53
1988
 
133,563,900
146.7
3.10
0.55
1989
 
136,177,800
149.6
1.96
0.55
1990
 
138,330,900
151.9
1.58
0.55
1991
 
137,612,800
151.1
-0.52
0.54
1992
 
138,166,100
151.7
0.40
0.54
1993
 
140,774,400
154.6
1.89
0.54
1994
 
144,196,600
158.4
2.43
0.55
1995
 
147,915,800
162.4
2.58
0.56
1996
 
151,056,200
165.9
2.12
0.56
1997
 
154,541,200
169.7
2.31
0.57
1998
 
158,481,200
174.1
2.55
0.57
1999
 
161,531,300
177.4
1.92
0.58
2000
 
165,370,800
181.6
2.38
0.59
2001
 
165,522,200
181.8
0.09
0.58
2002
 
165,095,100
181.3
-0.26
0.57
2003
 
165,921,500
182.2
0.50
0.57
2004
 
168,839,700
185.4
1.76
0.58
2005
 
172,338,400
189.3
2.07
0.58
2006
 
175,868,600
193.1
2.05
0.59
2007
 
179,543,700
197.2
2.09
0.60
2008
 
179,213,900
196.8
-0.18
0.59
2009
 
173,636,700
190.7
-3.11
0.57
2010
 
172,901,700
189.9
-0.42
0.56
2011
 
176,091,700
193.4
1.84
0.56
2012
 
178,979,700
196.6
1.64
0.57
2013
 
182,328,100
200.2
1.87
0.58
2014
 
186,239,800
204.5
2.15
0.58
2015
 
190,325,800
209.0
2.19
0.59
2016
 
193,425,900
212.4
1.63
0.60
2017
 
196,394,100
215.7
1.53
0.60
2018
 
200,292,200
220.0
1.98
0.61
2019
 
201,635,200
221.4
0.67
0.61
2020
 
195,286,600
214.5
-3.15
0.59
2021
 
202,752,100
222.7
3.82
0.61
2022
 
212,442,000
233.3
4.78
0.64
Source: Calculations by the Delaware Regional Economic Analysis Project (DE-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PN
 
   
Copyright © 2024. Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Analysis Project (PNREAP). All Rights Reserved.

Please stay tuned...
while your request is processing:

Please wait while your request is being processed...
To offer the most comprehensive set of interactive options in support of your research, DE-REAP calculates and crunches most of the data and generates the narrative and graphic analysis on demand in response to your request.
Your request will soon be available.
Just a few more seconds....Your request has been generated and is now loading the results.