Michigan’s monthly jobless rate has edged upward -- not because more people have lost jobs, but because more people are looking for work.
This is the first jump in the seasonally adjusted jobless rate in months. Hiring was up last month by 11,000 people. But 14,000 people were counted as unemployed as more jobseekers joined the workforce.
Governor Rick Snyder cheered the new state jobs report. From his statement:
“More Michiganders are joining the labor force again to look for jobs, demonstrating the strength of our state’s remarkable comeback. Residents are now more confident they can find something as they begin looking for new careers.”
Snyder aides say the challenge is connecting those jobseekers to employers with more than 100,000 positions and making sure they have the skills to succeed in those jobs.
The 4.6% rate is half a percentage point below where it was at this timelast year. It’s also below the national average of 5%.
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— Rick Pluta is the Managing Editor and Reporter for the Michigan Public Radio network. Contact WEMU News at734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org