Jobless claims see significant decline

Michigan defies trend as national numbers spike

New jobless claims in Michigan fell significantly last week even as new claims for unemployment assistance rose nationally.

New claims for unemployment assistance in Michigan totaled 12,906 for the week ending Oct. 10, down from 17,699 new claims filed the week before, according to the latest numbers released Thursday by the U.S. Labor Department.

But the number of new jobless claims nationally spiked to 898,000, exceeding analysts expectations as layoffs continue and new cases of the coronavirus spike upwards in many parts of the country.

Nationally, the economy is still 10.7 million jobs short of recovering the 22 million jobs lost when the pandemic struck in mid March.

In Michigan, however, continuing claims for unemployment assistance hit a seven-month low for the week ending Oct. 3 at 270,553, and the state’s unemployment rate is estimated at 6.28%.

The job search website Indeed said many employers still aren’t confident enough in their businesses or in their view of the economy to ramp up hiring. Job postings had rebounded steadily over the summer, but the gains have slowed in the past two months.

“Further recovery looks to have stalled out,” said Ann Elizabeth Konkel, an economist at Indeed. “Holiday hiring is sluggish, and many businesses need to make significant changes to ride out the colder months.”

Recipients of jobless benefits in Michigan are now receiving only regular state unemployment payments. A $600 federal addition to those benefits expired in July, and another $300 in federal benefits was only good for a few weeks

inmost states. InMichigan, the maximum state benefit is $362 a week for those who haven’t exhausted their benefits.

Economists have warned that the economy will weaken without further aid to workers, but congress remains at an impasse over further coronavirus assistance with the presidential election slightly more than two weeks away.

On Thursday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz sent a letter to the president and leadership of the U.S. House and Senate urging them to pass another relief bill.

“The coronavirus is more than a public health emergency, it is also a continuing economic crisis for the residents and businesses in our states,” the governors said. “The coronavirus knows no state lines and prioritizing the health of our workers and residents is critical. Yet, as we continue our efforts to contain the virus and mitigate its economic fallout, we confront both declining state budget revenue and the looming cutoff of the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) dollars that have been critical to our states’ pandemic response plans and economic relief programs. We implore you to put differences aside and agree to another, much-needed COVID-19 relief bill.”