Michigan’s monthly unemployment rate is down, but it’s because fewer workers are competing for jobs.
About 17,000 people dropped out of the workforce and gave up their search for a job. That nudged the state’s unemployment rate down by two-tenths of a percentage point, to 8.8%.
There was a bump in manufacturing jobs last month, but that was offset by layoffs in hospitality and government employment.
Hiring is up, though, from where it was at this point a year ago. An additional 60,000 people are employed, mostly in manufacturing, business services, and healthcare.
About 413,000 Michiganders are still out of work and looking. The state’s rate of unemployment and under-employment is 14.5%.
