Michigan is adding jobs, but the state’s unemployment rate remains stuck at 9 percent as more people compete for available positions. That’s according to the latest jobless numbers from the Michigan Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives.
Michigan’s unemployment rate was unchanged from August through October. The September and October jobs report was combined because of a delay in data-gathering caused by the federal government shutdown.
There has actually been a modest increase in hiring. But, at the same time, more people are looking for work.
“Some of those people start flooding back into the job market because they perceive jobs are available,” says state labor analyst Bruce Weaver. "Some of those individuals find jobs. Some don’t.”
Weaver says Michigan’s jobless number should go down in coming months if the economic recovery continues at the same pace.
When combined, Michigan’s rate of unemployment and under-employment is 15-point-six percent. That number includes people who are working part-time who would like full-time work.
Michigan’s jobless rate is about where it was a year ago, when it was 9.1 percent. Michigan’s unemployment rate remains higher than the national rate of 7.3 percent in October.
