LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – The latest report from Michigan’s Center for Data and Analytics shows a dip in unemployment and an increase in the state’s workforce over the past year.
Sixteen of Michigan’s seventeen designated regions experienced a median decrease of .5% in jobless rates.
Michigan’s Labor Market Information Director, Wayne Rourke, explained that most of that is due to an increase in payroll employment. He said the rest of the numbers have remained relatively stable.
“The labor market in Michigan has actually been pretty flat for the last six months or so since last summer,” Rourke said. “The labor market in the Upper Peninsula is ahead of where it was a year ago. In 2023 we have an average unemployment rate for the whole year in the up of 5.2. percent. That’s the lowest it’s been since we started tracking data in the 1990s.”
In the Upper Peninsula, that decrease in the jobless rate was even larger, at .7% Rourke explained that outside of the seasonal drop in employment, the U.P.’s average unemployment rates are decreasing, and the workforce is growing steadily.
Debb Brundell, CEO of Upper Peninsula Michigan Works, said she expects those numbers will continue to stay stable.
“We have a lot of exciting things going on, right. and we’re always a little bit different than downstate just because of the rural nature. so our unemployment generally is a little bit higher than downstate, but we’re we’re right on par right now.” Brundell said. “We have a lot of great opportunities for people who aren’t yet in the labor force. we’re working to encourage youth to enter the labor force, so I’m really positive about how things are looking for the up in this next year.”
She explained that the U.P. labor force increased by around 2% this past year and that projections continue to look positive as more projects and expansions are scheduled to begin across the peninsula.
Rourke said labor market growth in the U.P. is projected to stay on track with the rest of the state, with an 8% increase through 2030.
