Michigan May Surpass 2000 Employment Levels Soon

Job growth in the economic recovery following the Great Recession has been fairly steady. If the trend continues — and there’s no way of determining if it will or won’t — Michigan will surpass its 2000 job level peaks in 2020. There’s a symmetry to that. (The future is uncertain, of course, so take this with a grain of salt.)

The chart below provides the details. It shows the number of jobs in Michigan and for the entire U.S. relative to low point of the Great Recession. In 2000, Michigan had 4.7 million jobs, about 22 percent more than existed at the trough of the Great Recession. The job growth Michigan experienced since the recession has almost undone the job loss that occurred from 2000 to 2009.