Number Of Michiganders Collecting Unemployment Down 90 Percent Since 2009

During the week of June 24, 2009, 363,212 Michigan residents were collecting unemployment insurance benefits. Nine years later, just 35,247 were collecting unemployment benefits, a decline of 90 percent. It’s also the lowest number since 1987.

The individuals getting these benefits this past June represented just 0.83 percent of the state’s total workforce. The state’s unemployment rate was 4.5 percent in June, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“The labor market situation in Michigan is great for people looking for a job and tough for firms who want to hire,” said Don Grimes, a University of Michigan economist.

James Hohman, director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, said he is not surprised that the number of unemployment claims reached a record low.

“Michigan’s been adding jobs for the past seven years and limited the maximum length of time a person can collect,” Hohman said in an email.

A 2012 law reduced the maximum time someone can receive benefits from 26 weeks to 20 weeks.