Michigan sees decrease in number of unemployed
Week-to-week drop nearly 6%
The number of Michiganders on unemployment is continuing to decrease week-over-week.
According to numbers released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday, the number of continuing Michigan jobless claims decreased from 72,252 the week of Sept. 4 to 68,009 the week ending Sept. 11, a decrease of 4,243 or 5.8%.
As of Sept. 11, Michigan had the 10th highest number of residents still collecting unemployment behind California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and North Carolina. The states with the lowest number of unemployed residents included Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
Compared to the previous week, the number of firsttime jobless claims filed last week also decreased from 11,714 to 10,967.
On Thursday, The Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget released August unemployment and workforce data, which showed nonseasonally adjusted unemployment rates declined in 15 of Michigan’s 17 labor market areas in August.
79 of Michigan’s 83 counties exhibited jobless rate declines in August, while four counties had jobless rate increases over the month. Over the year, 82 counties recorded unemployment rate reductions. Eaton County’s unemployment rate was unchanged since August 2020.
“Most of Michigan’s regional labor markets displayed typical seasonal trends in August,” said Wayne Rourke, associate director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives. “Unemployment rates fell in most areas. Two regions with jobless rate increases in August had temporary auto-related layoffs due to the continuing semiconductor chip shortage.”
The DTMB also reported that regional unemployment rate declines ranged from 0.2 to 1.7 percentage points, with a median decrease of 0.8 percentage points. The most pronounced over-the-month
jobless rate reduction occurred in the Monroe metropolitan statistical area (MSA).
The Lansing and Flint metro areas were the only two regions with jobless rate increases in August, largely due to auto-related layoffs.
Also during the month of August, 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 percent, which was comparable to the trend nationally (+0.1 percent).
The state’s employment remained 241,000, or 5.1 percent below the February 2020 pre-pandemic total. The number of unemployed
in the state was 39,000, or 21.3 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels.
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 percent 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 applying for unemployment aid rose last week for a second straight week to 351,000, a sign that the delta variant of the coronavirus may be disrupting the job market’s recovery, at least temporarily.
Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims rose by 16,000 from the previous week. As the job market
has strengthened, unemployment aid applications, which generally track layoffs, have tumbled since topping 900,000 early this year, reflecting the economy’s reopening after the pandemic recession.
Still, jobless claims remain somewhat elevated: Before the pandemic tore through the economy in March 2020, they generally numbered about 220,000 a week.
America’s employers have rapidly increased their hiring since they slashed 22 million jobs in March and April 2020 as the pandemic — and the shutdowns meant to contain it — brought economic activity to a near-standstill. Since then, the economy has recovered about 17 million jobs as the rollout of vaccines encouraged businesses to open and expand hours and Americans to go back out to shop, travel and dine out.
But hiring, which has averaged
more than 585,000 jobs a month this year, slowed to just 235,000 in August as the delta variant disrupted the recovery. Overall, 2.8 million Americans were receiving unemployment benefits during the week of Sept. 11, up by 131,000 from the week before.
Earlier this month, 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 had been created in March of last year to help ease the economic hardship caused by the pandemic.
An additional 2.7 million people who were receiving regular state unemployment aid lost a $300-a-week federal unemployment supplement last week.