New jobless claims fall by 16%
Workforce increases for sixth consecutive month in August
The number of Michiganders applying for unemployment decreased by nearly 17% during the week ending Sept. 4.
According to numbers released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday, the number of continuing Michigan jobless claims decreased from 78,684 the week ending Aug. 28, to 65,580 the week ending Sept. 4. That’s the 9th-largest numerical decrease in continuing claims for any state.
Compared to the previous week, the number of firsttime jobless claims filed last week also decreased from 11,624 to 10,775.
On Wednesday, The Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget released August unemployment and workforce data, which showed Michigan’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate displayed little change from July, edging down by a tenth of a percentage point to 4.7%, a full percentage higher than February 2020.
According to the DTMB, statewide employment increased by 14,000 and unemployment declined by 3,000, resulting in a monthly workforce advance of 11,000. In August, Michigan’s workforce rose, for the sixth consecutive month, by 0.2%, which was comparable to the trend nationally (+0.1%).
“Michigan’s labor market indicators displayed
only minimal change in August,” said Wayne Rourke, associate director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives. “However, total employment and payroll jobs both continued to edge up over the month.”
Also during August, the state’s employment remained 241,000, or 5.1% below the February 2020 prepandemic total. The number of unemployed in the state was 39,000, or 21.3% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
You can view the U.S. Department of Labor’s Thursday report here: https:// www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf.
Long-term job data compiled by DTMB shows metro Detroit is home to nearly 1.7 million jobs and is projected to have almost 209,000 job openings every year through 2028. Of those projected openings, at least 52,300 will typically require a postsecondary certification, an associate degree or apprenticeship.
Within the state’s new set of employment projections, data shows several long-term trends that will impact the Detroit region and Michigan labor market. Among them are an aging population that will continue to spur demand for jobs in health care industries and occupations, the continued use of online shopping that will drive changes in the distribution of retail-related jobs, and an increase in careers that require postsecondary training or education.
Statewide data projections show Michigan’s population is expected to grow by 3.6% through 2028. This population growth, however, is expected to be combined with a sharp 28 percent increase in people age 65 and older. Largely because the number of residents approaching retirement age is expected to outpace the count of new residents in the state, the Michigan labor force is expected to contract by 0.2 percent through 2028.
Nationwide, the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits moved up last week to 332,000 from a pandemic low, a sign that the spread of the delta variant may have slightly increased layoffs.
Applications for jobless aid rose from 312,000 the week before. That was the lowest level since March 2020. Jobless claims, which generally track the pace of layoffs, have fallen steadily for two months as many employers, struggling to fill jobs, have held onto their workers.
Last week’s increase was small and may be temporary. The four-week average of jobless claims, which smooths out fluctuations in the weekly data, dropped for the fifth straight week to just below 336,000. That figure is also the lowest since the pandemic began.
Separately, the Commerce Department reported that retail sales unexpectedly rose 0.7% last month, as Americans kept spending despite the rise in coronavirus cases. But how they spent continues to be skewed by the pandemic. Online shopping jumped in August but spending at restaurants, bars and other businesses that rely on crowds, appears to have gone into a holding pattern.
Unemployment aid applications jumped 4,000 in Louisiana, evidence that Hurricane Ida led to widespread job losses in that state. Ida will likely nick the economy’s growth in the current July-September quarter, though repairs and rebuilding efforts are expected to make up for some of that in the coming months.
Still, Ida shut down oil refineries in Louisiana and Mississippi about two weeks ago and left more than 1 million homes and businesses without electricity. But Ida’s impact was limited: Applications for jobless aid fell slightly in Mississippi.
The job market and the broader economy have been slowed in recent weeks by the delta variant, which has discouraged many Americans from traveling, staying in hotels and eating out. Earlier this month, the government reported that employers added just 235,000 jobs in August after having added roughly a million people in both June and July.
Hiring in August plummeted in industries that require face-to-face contact with the public, notably restaurants, hotels and retailers. Still, some jobs were added in other areas, and the unemployment rate actually dropped to 5.2% from 5.4%.
The steady fall in weekly applications for unemployment benefits coincides with a scaling-back of aid for jobless Americans. Last week, more than 8 million people lost all their unemployment benefits with the expiration of two federal programs that covered gig workers and people who have been jobless for more than six months. Those emergency programs were created in March 2020, when the pandemic first tore through the economy.
An additional 2.7 million people who are receiving regular state unemployment aid lost a $300-a-week federal unemployment supplement last week.
Long-term job data compiled by DTMB shows metro Detroit is home to nearly 1.7 million jobs and is projected to have almost 209,000 job openings every year through 2028. Of those projected openings, at least 52,300 will typically require a postsecondary certification, an associate degree or apprenticeship.