Michigan's unemployment rate dips to 15.0 percent; new Ann Arbor numbers coming in late August
The seemingly permanent escalation of Michigan’s unemployment rate halted in July, dropping from 15.2 percent to 15.0 percent.
It’s the first month-to-month drop in Michigan’s unemployment rate in 14 months. But state officials said the drop was attributable to seasonal hiring nuances, not a permanent shift in Michigan’s economic fortunes.
“Because of the large number of auto workers already on layoff in June, the July … auto plant shutdowns resulted in fewer worker layoffs than usual,” said Rick Waclawek, director of the Department of Energy Labor and Economic Growth’s Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, in a press release. “Therefore, the higher level of seasonally adjusted manufacturing jobs in July does not reflect any real improvement in the job picture, but is just an artifact of the seasonal adjustment process.”
University of Michigan economists have projected that the state’s unemployment rate would average 15.8 percent in 2010.
July’s national unemployment rate was 9.4 percent.
Unemployment data for Michigan's metropolitan labor markets, including the Ann Arbor region, will be released Aug. 27. Washtenaw County registered an unemployment rate of 10.6 percent in June.
You can e-mail AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at nathanbomey@annarbor.com, call him at (734) 623-2587 or follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Nathan Bomey
Thu, Aug 20, 2009 : 9:29 a.m.
David, good question. Unfortunately neither the state nor the federal government provides unemployment data for the Ann Arbor city alone.
David Cahill
Thu, Aug 20, 2009 : 9:01 a.m.
Mr. Bomey, what is the current unemployment rate for Ann Arbor City *only*? Sometimes we don't see this figure in press reports because the media focus on Washtenaw County as a whole.
jeremy
Wed, Aug 19, 2009 : 8:45 p.m.
the numbers are probably right as there is a large portion of people that are now off unemployment benefits due to their expiration. that and people that got one of those 1 month economic stimulus package jobs. that is a joke. bringing someone to work for a month or month and a half and calling it creating new jobs. what a state we live in. I've been out of work only 3 1/2 months but have only had 1 interview. I think its safe to say the jenny has blown us away as she said she would
uawisok
Wed, Aug 19, 2009 : 3:29 p.m.
My sister who has been out of work for a looong time and lost unemployment benefits is probably part of the 0.2%, and still no job...hanging on a shoestring and family support. Her college degree is underwater, the race to the bottom continues!
Nathan Bomey
Wed, Aug 19, 2009 : 2:18 p.m.
Michigan's Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth releases its own figures each month. DLEG issued a press release earlier this afternoon with the data. Here's another brief story about the unemployment rate (from the Detroit Free Press): http://freep.com/article/20090819/NEWS06/90819058/1319/Michigan-jobless-rate-drops-slightly-to-15- The press release itself will be posted online soon: http://www.michigan.gov/dleg/0,1607,7-154-10573_11472---,00.html
xamox
Wed, Aug 19, 2009 : 2:14 p.m.
Where is your data coming from? The bureau of labor and statistics haven't released july numbers for states yet.