Michigan economy

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.

Sequestration spending cuts may put the brakes on some projects in Michigan

Steve Carmody — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 15:30:00 +0000

Local governments and businesses are waiting to see how they will be affected by automatic federal budget cuts that take effect today.

In Grand Rapids, the city’s plans for a new rapid bus service may end up being delayed by the sequester cuts.

Peter Varga is the CEO of The Rapid. He says 80 percent of the funding for the nearly $40 million project is slated to come from the federal government.

Stateside: What does the 'sequester' really mean for Michigan?

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 22:20:43 +0000

The following is a summary of a previously recorded interview. To hear the complete segment, click the audio above.

The term "sequester" is being tossed around all over the news and in Washington D.C. this week, but what does that mean for Michigan?

Stateside: What do Michigan residents think should happen to restore the economy

Stateside Staff — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:41:02 +0000

There is certainly no shortage of reporting, discussion and conversation about what should happen to breath new life into Michigan's economy.

Most of this conversation seems to revolve around the thought of legislatures, policy makers, and Governor Snyder.

But what do Michiganders think should happen to help restore the economy and what do you want to see as a Michigan citizen?

Sequestration could cost Michigan 23,000 to 25,000 jobs

Steve Carmody — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:36:38 +0000

Michigan stands to lose thousands of jobs if automatic federal budget cuts take effect at the end of the month.

The effects could ripple through the state’s economy.

Stephen Fuller, an economist at George Mason University, has broken down the effects of the $85 billion in federal spending cuts that will go into effect if the so-called sequestration goes through next week.

He estimates Michigan will lose 23,000 to 25,000 jobs, mostly defense department related, but also about 10,000 non-governmental jobs.

That’s slightly lower than the more than 30,000 jobs lost he predicted last year, but he says the effect on Michigan’s economy will still be more than $2 billion.

Fuller says small businesses will feel the effect more than large businesses.

“They have a harder time adjusting…they don’t have stockholders or large deposits in the bank to live off of,” said Fuller.

Fuller says government workers will probably start to feel the budget cuts in April, but a Lansing area defense contractor has already announced layoffs tied to the looming sequestration.

The number of low-income working families continues to rise in Michigan

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 18:00:03 +0000

More families in Michigan are finding it hard to meet basic needs.

A report by the Working Poor Families Project says a family of four with a household income of about $45,600 is considered low-income. Michigan finds itself in the middle nationally, with the 26th highest number of low-income working families in the nation.

Slowdown in Michigan disposable income growth in 2013 in part due to higher state tax burden

Lester Graham — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 12:00:00 +0000

The State of the State speech outlines what the Governor sees as spending priorities for the state. But state taxes and spending are only part of the story. Michigan Watch has learned recovering from the Great Recession will not go as well in Michigan as the rest of the nation this year.

Michigan's December jobless rate holds at 8.9 percent; annual numbers show improvement

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 21:12:03 +0000

Michigan’s unemployment rate held steady through the month of December at 8.9 percent, according to a report released today by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget (DTMB).

The December rate marks a four-tenths of a percent decrease from last year, while the national jobless rate dropped by seven-tenths of a percent over the same period.

Total employment declined by 11,000 last month.

Japanese auto supplier set to invest $150 million in Michigan

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:12:03 +0000

Japanese auto supplier Denso has announced a four-year, $1 billion expansion in North America, including a $150 million investment in Michigan.

According to plans revealed at the North American International Auto Show on Tuesday, the auto supplier could hire a combined 400 new workers at its technical center in Southfield and manufacturing plant in Battle Creek.

Nathan Borney of the Detroit Free Press has more:

U of M economist projects moderate, sustained economic growth for Michigan

Rick Pluta and Michigan Radio Newsroom — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 19:31:28 +0000

Over the next two years, the state of Michigan should recover about 40 percent of jobs lost during a nearly decade-long recession, says one University of Michigan economics professor.

George Fulton, director of the Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics, told a group of state officials that Michigan is expected to enter its fourth year of a moderate but sustained economic recovery.

Speaking at the state’s biannual revenue-estimating conference Friday, Fulton said Michigan still has progress to make.

Stateside: Avoiding the fiscal cliff

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 22:07:13 +0000

The short-term compromise that Congress passed last night may have averted the immediate impacts of the so-called "fiscal cliff,” but bigger battles lie ahead for Congress and the White House.

Michigan State University Economics professor Charley Ballard spoke with Cindy about the deal and what we can expect in the coming months.

Ballard said he was hoping for a grand bargain, a much more comprehensive effort to deal with the country’s fiscal problems, but that something is better than nothing.

Unemployment in Michigan declines for third consecutive month

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 21:11:15 +0000

Michigan’s unemployment rate is down two-tenths of a percent to 8.9 percent over the course of November, according to a report released Wednesday by the Department of Technology, Management & Budget (DTMB).

That's seven-tenths of a percent below last year's November rate.

The labor force declined by 24,000 over the course of the month.

Governor signs phaseout on business and industrial equipment tax

Rick Pluta — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 20:04:19 +0000

Governor Rick Snyder has signed a plan to phase out the state’s tax on business and industrial equipment.

Manufacturers, in particular, say the tax discourages investment in Michigan.

Charlie Pryde is a lobbyist for Ford.

“We believe the reform package the governor is signing today will make Michigan more competitive for manufacturing and Ford Motor Company more competitive in the intensely competitive automotive manufacturing marketplace,” Pryde said.

Stateside: Addressing Michigan's income disparity

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 22:41:55 +0000

The gap between the Middle and Upper class in Michigan has widened.

Michigan State University’s Charley Ballard spoke with Cyndy about income disparity in both the state and country.

“There is a lot of emphasis about the level of income, but I am talking about the gap between those at the top, the middle and bottom in terms of how much their household income is. A big story is that the gap has widened. Michigan is typical in that the gap between the gap and top and the middle has gone way up, but the gap between the middle and the bottom has not,” said Ballard.

The disparities in income are largely a result of varying degrees of education among Michigan workers.

“Those at the top tend to be college-educated. Those at the bottom tend to not be,” said Ballard.

According to Ballard, Michigan’s statistics are average when compared nationally.

“In a lot of ways we’re a middle-of-the-pack state. If you take that ratio of the household income for the person at the 90^th percentile, upper-middle class, and compare that with the household income with someone at the tenth percentile, that ratio increased by more than 20% in Michigan.”