Michigan’s job recovery has become the fifteenth weakest recovery in the United States since the 2020 Covid pandemic, according to economic indicators that contradict state officials’ claims of a strong economic rebound.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced in a recent press release that CNBC ranked Michigan ninth among states to do business. Instead of objective statistics, CNBC compiled rankings based on “attributes they [the states] use to sell themselves.”

However, Michigan job recovery is only up 1.2% from pre-pandemic levels, compared to the US average increase of 4.1%. Michigan recovered all of its COVID job losses in April 2023, while the average state had recovered by June 2022.

Critics say Whitmer administration policies have slowed the state’s recovery.

Michigan’s economic recovery lagged that of many other states because Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID policies and post-lockdown decisions by the Legislature were “often the exact worst way to go about bringing Michigan’s economy back,” John Mozena, the President of the Center for Economic Accountability, told CapCon in an email.

“Stubborn central planners dug Michigan into a deep economic hole during COVID,” Mozena said, “and once the lockdowns were over, they just kept digging, certain in their belief that they’d eventually find buried treasure.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 32% of Michigan businesses suffered mandated closure during the pandemic, compared to the national average of 19%.  

Population growth in Michigan, an indicator of economic health, has stagnated at 10 million for the past generation. And for the past two years, more people have moved out of Michigan than in. The U.S. average population has grown by 19% since 2000.

Michigan jobs haven’t returned to the levels they were in 2000. The average state has added one job for every five jobs held in 2000. Michigan is down one job for every 20 jobs it had in 2000, according to the BLS.

In June, Whitmer announced 38,000 auto jobs that weren’t actually created. Since 2019, Michigan has lost more than 2,600 auto jobs.

Detroit carmakers were out-manufactured by foreign competitors for the first time last year, the Detroit News reported. The Detroit Three have also announced large state layoffs. The state has lost 4,200 auto and auto parts manufacturing jobs in the past year, compared to the 46,500 added by the rest of the country over the same period.

The Michigan unemployment rate was 3.9% in May 2024, compared to the 3.7% rate in February 2020.

In 2023, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy released a study recommending how to grow Michigan’s economy. The study recommends tax cuts and free market principles. These are in stark contrast to recent policy moves. Michigan lawmakers have also raised income taxes, repealed the state’s right-to-work, and promised $4.4 billion of taxpayer dollars in corporate subsidies.

Ottawa County property owners who oppose a ban on short-term rentals have a new argument in their favor: A report from a research unit at Hope College outlines some costs of the ban, which could affect rental owners, visitors to the area and local businesses.

The report from the Frost Research Center at Hope College examined the economic impact of Park Township’s ban on short-term rentals, which has been stayed during a court battle. It found that 58% of respondents who rent property on a short-term basis receive between $10,000 and $50,000 annually from the practice.

The report also estimates the amount guests who use short-term rentals spend in the area. “A hypothetical STR listing that hosts two adults for 12 weeks out of the year is associated with an estimated $14,112.”

The Frost Center surveyed local businesses and found more than two-thirds of respondents said short-term rentals had a positive impact on them. More than 60% said a ban could have long-term negative effects. Some businesses, notably restaurants, reported that a significant portion of their income came from tourists.

A ban could harm local residents, said one of its leading opponents. “Local residents might not consider the effects that a reduction in tourism could have on their own day-to-day lives in terms of the restaurants, retail and service businesses they personally use,” Jeremy Allen, president of Park Township Neighbors, said in a press release. Park Township Neighbors is a nonprofit created by property owners to combat the township’s ban on short-term rentals. In November 2022, trustees voted to enforce the ban, which had been on the books but not enforced since 1974.

The association recorded a win in circuit court after Judge Jon Hulsing ruled in December 2023 that the zoning law could not be enforced until the lawsuit is settled.

Harold Fink, township supervisor, told CapCon in an email that he could not comment, due to the ongoing litigation.