Jobs Picture Remains Gloomy Despite Drop In Unemployment Rate

Workers were giving up looking for work in mid-Michigan faster than the jobs were disappearing, resulting in an overall lower unemployment rate in September.

That’s according to an analysis of unemployment number released by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget this week.

The overall unemployment rate in the four-county region of Clare, Gratiot, Isabella and Montcalm counties fell to 9.4 percent during September. That’s just the second month this year the four-county unemployment rate has fallen below double digits; the other time was in May.

But that masks the underlying reason for the drop in the unemployment rate: More than 2,500 fewer people were working or seeking work in September 2011 compared to September 2010. The number of jobs across the four-county region fell by nearly 800 year to year.

“Typical seasonal patterns dominated Michigan’s local labor market situation in September,” said Rick Waclawek, director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information & Strategic Initiatives. “A reduction in the summer and seasonal work force was offset by increases in education related employment.”

From September 2010 to September 2011, the state saw what Waclawek called “significant reductions” in the number of jobs in the leisure and hospitality industries as well as in government. But jobs increased in education and health services, manufacturing, professional and business services, and construction.

Clare County recorded a 12.2 percent unemployment rate in September, down from August’s 12.9 percent and September 2010’s 13.9 percent. It was the 46th consecutive month Clare County’s unemployment rate has been above 10 percent.

Montcalm County was at 11.4 percent in September, down from 12.5 percent in August and 13.5 percent in September 2010. It was Montcalm County’s 41st straight month of double-digit unemployment.

Gratiot County’s unemployment rate fell to 9.6 percent in September, down from 10.2 percent in August and 11.1 percent in September 2010.

Isabella County recorded a September unemployment rate of 6.9 percent, down from 7.5 percent in August and 8.1 percent the year before. It was the seventh-lowest countywide unemployment rate in the state.

Tourism-dominated Mackinac County remained the area with the state’s lowest unemployment rate, at 4.4 percent in September. Clinton County was at 6.4 percent, Cheboygan County at 6.5 percent, Washtenaw County at 6.6 percent, Barry County at 6.7 percent, and Eaton County at 6.8 percent.

Northwest Michigan’s Leelanau County was No. 8, at 7.1 percent, while Marquette and Midland counties tied for No. 9 at 7.5 percent.

Statewide, the seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate was 10.1 percent in September. Forty-two of Michigan’s 83 counties remained mired in double-digit unemployment, with the worst unemployment in western Upper Michigan’s Baraga County at 16.4 percent.

Source: http://www.themorningsun.com/articles/2011/10/29/business/doc4eab2abb3e60c084091275.txt