Michigan’s December unemployment rate unchanged
Lansing – Michigan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in December was unchanged over the month at 8.9 percent, according to data released today by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget (DTMB). Total employment declined by 11,000 in December; however the number of unemployed was little changed, edging upward by 1,000. The net impact was a 10,000 reduction in the state’s labor force over the month.
The Michigan jobless rate in December 2012 was four-tenths of a percentage point below the state’s December 2011 rate of 9.3 percent. The national jobless rate decreased by seven-tenths of a percentage point over this period. The state’s unemployment rate in December was over a full percentage point above the national rate of 7.8 percent. The U.S. jobless rate was also unchanged over the month.
“Most of Michigan’s 2012 job gains occurred during the first half of the year,” said Rick Waclawek, director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives. “Taken as a whole, the state’s labor market improved during 2012. The number of unemployed fell in 2012, and Michigan recorded job gains for a second consecutive year.”
Monthly Labor Force Trends & Highlights
· During the fourth quarter 2012, Michigan’s unemployment rate edged downward by two-tenths of a percentage point from 9.2 to 9.0 percent.
· Michigan’s workforce fell in December for the second consecutive month. The state’s labor force in 2012 had been tracking upward or was stable in most months leading up to October. Over the last two months, the labor force fell to its lowest level since January.
· From December 2011 to December 2012, total employment in Michigan increased by 28,000 or 0.7 percent. The national rate of increase over the same period was 1.7 percent.
· Since December 2011, the number of unemployed in the state fell by 18,000 or 4.2 percent. The number of unemployed declined nationally by 6.5 percent over the same period.