LANSING, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – The job landscape along the Lakeshore suffered a little bit last month.
In seasonally unadjusted unemployment numbers released by the state Department of Technology, Management and Budget yesterday, joblessness rose to 3.2 percent in Ottawa County and 3.8 percent in Allegan County in December, ranking them tied for third and tied for ninth statewide, respectively, among Michigan’s 83 counties. This compares with 3.1 percent in Ottawa County and 3.3 percent in Allegan County in November, and according to Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives Director Jason Palmer, “local labor market changes in December were almost exclusively seasonal and typical. Overall in 2017, the majority of the state’s major local labor markets displayed payroll job gains, while unemployment rates were little changed from 2016. Jobless rates in both 2016 and 2017 were relatively low by historical standards.”
Washtenaw County had the lowest unemployment rate last month at three percent even, while Mackinac County had the highest at 19 percent.
