LANSING – Michigan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged in August from July at 4.5 percent, but the state saw both its total labor force and number of people working fall in August.
Governor Rick Snyder still praised the news, saying Michigan’s jobless rate is below the national August unemployment rate of 4.9 percent.
“As we move forward and work to continue our comeback, it’s encouraging to see that Michigan’s unemployment rate remains below the national average and more than 10 points lower than its peak in the summer of 2009,” Snyder said in a press release. “Our job creators have added more than 450,000 private sector jobs in five and a half years, and there are nearly 100,000 jobs available today in Michigan.”
The August figures, however, showed some effect of seasonal employment as tourism jobs fell after growing in June and July.
The figures also showed that weekly hours worked and weekly paychecks were down compared to August 2015, though they were up compared to July.
The figures showed that Michigan’s total workforce was 4.804 million in August, 5,000 fewer than the number in July and the fifth consecutive month the labor force has fallen. It was 63,000 higher than the total workforce in August 2015.
There were 4.588 million people working in the state in August, down 7,000 from July but 90,000 more than August 2015. For the year, said the Department of Technology, Management and Budget.
There were also 216,000 people listed as unemployed, 2,000 more than in July, though 28,000 fewer than in August 2015.
The department said for all of 2016 the average monthly number of unemployed was 227,000, the lowest average since 2001. However, in 2001, the state also had both about 360,000 more people in the labor force and working.
The Detroit-Warren-Dearborn labor market, the state’s largest, actually saw slightly more people in its labor force, at 2.054 million, 1,000 more than in July. The total labor force in the metro area is also 77,000 people larger than in August 2015.
The Detroit region did not, however, see any change in the number of people working, 1.953 million in August compared to July, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.9 percent. In August 2015, it stood at 5.8 percent.
The state said the increase in the number of people working in Michigan since August 2015 outpaced the percentage of job growth in the nation.
And the vast majority of the job growth took place in four industry sectors, professional and business services, education and health services, financial activities and manufacturing.
The August figures also showed that hospitality service jobs dropped in August as the tourist season began to slow.
The figures also showed that in manufacturing average weekly hours worked and average weekly earnings were down compared to July and a year before.
In transportation manufacturing, however, hours and wages were up compared to July but not compared to August 2015. In August, average weekly hours worked stood at 44.6, up 0.4 hours from July, but nearly five hours from August 2015. Average weekly earnings were nearly $989 in August, down $263 from August 2015.
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