jobless

Michigan's jobless rate dips again, total workforce rises

Steve Carmody — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:56:02 +0000

Michigan’s unemployment rate declined by one tenth of one percentage point last month.

Michigan’s April unemployment rate was 8.4%, down seven tenths of a percentage point from April of 2012. The state’s jobless rate has been on the decline since last September.

The biggest gains last month were found in the leisure, manufacturing and health services industries, while professional and business services posted a big decline.

And the state’s latest labor numbers are not just about people with jobs.

Michigan teenagers may have a better chance of landing a summer job

Steve Carmody — Mon, 13 May 2013 19:06:00 +0000

Michigan labor officials say teenagers may have a better chance this year of landing a summer job.

In the summer of 2010, at the height of the recession, teen summer unemployment was pegged at 35 percent.

State economic analyst Bruce Weaver predicts this summer teen unemployment should be closer to 25 percent.

“The types of industries that tend to hire teens … which primarily fall in the service and retail sector … have added jobs in Michigan over the past several years,” says Weaver.

Michigan's unemployment rate dipped in February

Steve Carmody — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 22:56:00 +0000

Michigan’s employment picture brightened a bit in February.

The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget says the state’s jobless rate dipped slightly in February, down one tenth of one percent, to 8.8%. Michigan's unemployment rate has been declining since last August.

In real numbers, total employment increased by 15,000 jobs over the month while the number of unemployed declined slightly by 3,000.

Michigan jobless rate up 0.4 points to 9 percent

The Associated Press — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 23:20:44 +0000

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan's unemployment rate is on the rise, jumping 0.4 percentage points to 9 percent in the latest figures from the state.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July that was released Wednesday remains 1.6 percentage points below July 2011's rate of 10.6 percent. The national rate has fallen 0.8 percentage points in that time.

The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget says the number of jobless state residents actively seeking work rose by 19,000 in July, while the size of the state's labor force was little changed.

State of Opportunity: Even short-term parental joblessness can be a long-term problem for kids

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 15:39:42 +0000

This week, Michigan Radio's State of Opportunity reporter Dustin Dwyer delved into one of the uncomfortable truths of the Great Recession: that kids were among the hardest hit.

He writes that in 2010, one out of three kids in this country lived in a house where neither parent had full-time, year-round work. He says the recession affected everyone in America, rich and poor. But some groups were hit worse: people with no college degree, African-Americans and children.

Click here to follow Dwyer as he interviews parents feeling the effects of unemployment.

Check back in to the State of Opportunity website to read and listen to new stories every week.

-Elaine Ezekiel, Michigan Radio Newsroom