LANSING, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Jan. 16, 2026) – Unemployment stayed somewhat steady along the Lakeshore and across the state this fall.
In not seasonally-adjusted numbers released on Thursday by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, the jobless rate in Ottawa County stood at 3.9 percent in November, and 4.1 percent in Allegan County. This was an increase of two tenths of a percentage point in both instances from September, as no figures were available for October due to the effects of the six-week-long federal government shutdown. A year ago, those levels stood at 3.4 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively.
Dr. Brian Long is the Director of Supply Management Research with the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University.
He surveys purchasing managers in the Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo markets for his monthly West Michigan Current Business Trends report.
Across the state, unemployment rates rose in 13 of Michigan’s 18 labor market areas in November, and in 70 of the 83 counties.
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