Whitmer’s Michigan: Unemployment hits 5% — 45,000 more out of work than year before
State's unemployment heading in opposite direction of nation as a whole
By Victor Skinner
January 26, 2025
Michigan unemployment continued a months-long rise in December to reach the highest point since October 2021, concluding 2024 with 45,000 more Michiganders out of work than a year ago.
Wayne Rourke, labor market information director for the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics, attempted to put a positive spin on the depressing numbers in a statement Thursday.
“After three consecutive years of jobless rate declines, Michigan’s annual average unemployment rate rose during 2024,” he said. “However, the state’s annual average labor force level and payroll jobs total both increased over the year.”
As the national unemployment rate receded by another tenth of a percentage point to 4.1% in December, Michigan’s rate increased by two tenths to 5%.
“Michigan’s number of unemployed people increased by 21.7 percent over the year, a gain 12.7 percentage points larger than the growth in unemployed persons seen nationally (+9.0 percent),” according to the Department of Technology, Management & Budget.
https://www.themidwesterner.news/2025/01/whitmers-michigan-unemployment-hits-5-45000-more-out-of-work-than-year-before/?utm_source=right-rail-latest
