Employment decline leaves Michigan near the bottom nationwide

Michigan’s employment numbers have dropped since spring 2024, while unemployment has risen.

The number of people employed in the state has dropped by 58,848 since May 2024, according to Mackinac Center for Public Policy research. The 1.2% loss puts the state in second-to-last place among the states, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Since May, Michigan’s unemployment rate increased more than every other state, except South Carolina. Michigan moved from 18th place in the nation for unemployment to sixth place, with an unemployment rate of 5%.

“The current unemployment rate is still pretty low for Michigan for the past generation,” said James Hohman, fiscal policy director at Mackinac Center for Public Policy. The state’s employment rate was above 5% from July 2001 to December 2015.

“But employment losses increasing the state unemployment rate is a sign that Michigan has been heading in the wrong direction,” he told Michigan Capitol Confidential.

Employment declined by 28,399, or 0.6%, from May to August. The state experienced a 30,449 decrease in employment from August through December.