unemployment

An image of an unemployment benefits application.

WILMINGTON, Del. — The Delaware Department of Labor says the state's unemployment backlog is nearly gone.

According to the department, workers have cleared 99.9% of outstanding backlogged unemployment claims.  The department said the milestone reflects improvements in service delivery, compliance and fiscal management, while also positioning the agency to better handle future demand.

The progress comes during a recent spike in claims. Between December 2025 and January 2026, the state says more than 12,000 new claims were filed. Of those, 9,000 were processed, a 75% completion rate in two months. Altogether, 13,000 claims — including both new filings and older cases — were resolved in the first quarter of 2026.

State leaders say the changes will allow the department to respond more quickly moving forward, with stronger coordination and increased processing capacity.

The announcement comes as the department's new paid leave program faced claim hiccups of its own, with payments delayed due to a system error. The Department says that issue has since been resolved. 

Tags

Locations

Evening Broadcast Journalist

Madeleine has been with Draper Media since 2016, when she first worked as Sussex County Bureau Chief. She helped launch the rebranded CoastTV in 2019. As co-anchor of CoastTV News at 5 and 6, Maddie helps organize the evening newscasts and performs managerial responsibilities such as helping find and assign stories, approving scripts, and making content decisions.

Recommended for you