LANSING, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, June 22, 2023) – May is the time for tulips to bloom and for unemployment to rise.
Those trends continued last month, as numbers disclosed on Thursday by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed that not seasonally-adjusted jobless rates rose in 16 of 17 major labor markets in the state, and in 60 of the 83 counties. In a department statement, Michigan Center for Data and Analytics Labor Market Information Director Wayne Rourke said that, “Regional jobless rates advanced in May as residents began entering the summer job market. Payroll employment (though) rose in most metro areas over the month.”
The Lakeshore wasn’t immune to this trend, as joblessness stood at 3.3 percent for Ottawa County and 3.4 percent for Allegan County. Those numbers are up a full percentage point and six tenths of a percentage point, respectively, from April, and are almost the same from a year ago at this time (3.2 percent for Ottawa County, 3.4 percent for Allegan County).
Despite this development, the employment scene is still one of more need than supply in the region, according to Dr. Brian Long, Director of Supply Management Research with the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University.
Other statewide trends noted by the DTMB include regional employment levels and workforce levels are up for both the month and the year, while regional nonfarm jobs rose in May.
Comments