MI Unemployment Drops Again

A little good news tonight on the unemployment front.

Michigan’s seasonally adjusted rates dropped last month to 12.8%.

According to the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth, it was 14.4% in October 2009.

The national jobless rate dropped by half a percentage point over this period.

It’s the first time since March 2009 that the state’s jobless rate was below 13%.

So far this year, the number of people unemployed in Michigan has declined every month.

The state’s total employment level has remained essentially flat since August.

This is in contrast to the first half of the year, when total employment rose every month.

From October 2009 to last month, unemployment fell by 81,000 jobs, or 11.6%.

Nationally, unemployment declined by 4.9% in the same period.

The U.S. unemployment rate remained flat at 9.6% in October.